The Fall of Sakura
by Mean boy2004
Summary: read and figured out yourself.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"What's happening over there?"Shironosuke asked Heisuke as they spied a large crowd, who seemed as though has they were watching something. Whilst most were silent watching the goings on, some were whispering to each other throwing anxious glances in the direction of whatever they were watching, just in case the people who were causing the disturbance turned on them.

"Looks like some rogue samurai have found a new victim. Come on, let's show them who's boss," Shinpachi smirked, his eyes shining with mischief. Shinpachi and Okita broke through the crowd and approached the disturbance, the common people hurrying out of their way when they saw the blue coats. As soon as the Shinsengumi Captains saw who the rogue samurai were picking on, they froze in shock.

A boy, almost as tall as Okita stood with his back to them; his brown hair was pulled into a high pony tail, letting the ends cascade down his back in an untameable waterfall.

"All I asked was whether you could give me directions to the Shinsengumi headquarters, I didn't expect to have to pay for the information," the boy narrowed his eyes dangerously at them, "If you are so poor that you would put aside your pride to openly demand money from strangers, you would do better to put down your swords and do an honest paid job." The samurai swore at him and unsheathed their swords and attacked him, only to be stopped by Okita, who walked in front of the boy and glared imposingly at them.

" Yukimura, this way," the boy turned and fixed his eyes on Shinpachi, who shivered when orange eyes met his. There was no recognition on his face, only cold understanding as he dashed over. The boy flashed his eyes over Heisuke and Shironosuke as he passed them and sensed them following as they ran down the alley.

"Don't worry about Okita, his squad will take care of the rounin," Shinpachi called back over his shoulder. They ran for a good long while until they stopped outside the gates of the Shinsengumi headquarters.

"Come on in," they walked in and Shironosuke noticed a number of soldiers, who had been with the Shinsengumi for a long time, whisper to each other and pointed at the boy in front of her. They walked round to the back of the mansion to where Kondou, Hijikata and the other captains were sat discussing business. Shinpachi opened the door with a grin, interrupting them.

"I brought a guest back," he said, Hijikata narrowed his eyes.

"You know the rules! Strangers aren't allowed back h..." Shinpachi slid the door open fully and everyone gasped when they saw the boy standing there.

" Yukimura-kun," Kondou breathed, a frown on his face.

"Heh, last time I saw you, you almost wet yourself when I pushed you off that bridge," Sanosuke sneered, fingering the hilt of his sword. A flash of anger flickered in the boy's eyes before he closed them.

"Is that so?" he walked over and sat in front of Kondou, his back to Sanosuke, "that must mean that you have become a lot weaker since we last met."

"Teme, fuck you!" Sanosuke snarled, only to stop when Yukimura turned his head and fixed his eyes on him. Once the boy was satisfied that Sanosuke wouldn't attack him, he turned back to Kondou.

"Sir, how did you know my name was Yukimura?" he asked, everyone looked at him confused.

"Ryunosuke?" Heisuke ran over and grabbed Yukimura's shoulders and shook him;" don't you recognise any of us?" Yukimura looked shocked for a moment before trying to remove himself from the other man's grasp.

"Let go!" he warned. Heisuke shook his head and continued to shake the blue haired man.

"Not until you answer me!" No one noticed Shironosuke open the door, carrying a tray of tea. Yukimura jumped to his feet and snarled at the shorter man who was refusing to let him go. Feeling a breeze on his face, he knew that the door was open and kicked the 8th division Captain out of the door; he caught sight of Shironosuke and instinctively ran towards her, shielding her from Heisuke's flailing arms as he fell and steadied the tray. Shironosuke looked up at him with wide eyes, he sighed in relief, pulled the tray out of her hands despite her complaints and returned to the room where Kondou sat blinking as he tried to work out what had just happened.

"Forgive me, I should not have lost my temper," Yukimura inclined his head.

"It is of no matter. I think anyone would have lost their temper at being shaken like that," Hijikata said with a gentle smile, "Heisuke, get back in here!" The young man picked himself off the floor and walked in grumbling to himself.

"As you have said I am a Yukimura, however my name is Yukimura Chizuru." Everyone stared at him in disbelief, there was no way that Ryunosuke could have a child the same age as Chizuru. They knew that he was hiding something but decided not to question him on it.

"He sent me here as part of my training and I have a message for the captains of the Shinsengumi."

"What do you think Saito?" Sanosuke asked the man with a white scarf wrapped around his neck, who stared at Chizuru and then nodded.

"This man is definitely not Ryunosuke. Unlike his father's trickle of chi, this man has a tsunami at his disposal." Sanosuke sighed and murmured how it was impossible to make sense of what he said. Chizuru laughed, the warm sound echoing around the room.

"I think we should hear your message," Kondou said, smiling as he felt the tension drain out of the room. The orange eyed boy nodded and collected his thoughts.

"Right, I'll just recite everything," Chizuru took a deep breath and turned to the commander, "Firstly, to Kondou-san and Hijikata-san. I hope that you do not mind that I send my son to you without first consulting you, I am sure that he will prove more useful to you than I did. I sincerely hope you take good care of him, he is my youngest child and my pride and joy."

"I'm surprised he didn't die of embarrassment when he said that," Heisuke sniggered.

"He is merely recounting a message, if you look carefully he has no expression on his face, it's as if we are listening to him read out a letter," Saito said, his eyes fixed on Chizuru. Shinpachi and Heisuke started and looked at Chizuru, seeing that what Saito had said was completely right.

At that point Chizuru turned to Sanosuke, a pained grimace on his face as he bent down into a low bow, his head touching the ground.

"Harada-san, I feel that I must thank you with my whole being. I am grateful that you showed me mercy by pushing me into the river rather than striking me down with your sword. Due to that whim, I was able to continue living and I built an honest life for myself."

"Ah really?" Harada rubbed the back of his head, "I should have just killed you when I had the chance."

"Saito-dono," Chizuru turned to him and once again bowed with a pained expression, "You have my undying gratitude for teaching me the basics of sword play, and such basics I have passed down to my son. I have a favour to request of you. My son is stronger than I and so I can no longer teach him. Please, show him the way of a true samurai and finesse his abilities. I know that you would be able to help him tame his passion." Saito narrowed his eyes for a moment, examining the boy in front of him.

"Very well, Chizuru-kun, raise your head," the blue haired boy did as he was asked, "I will take you in as my pupil and you will be able to stay here. There is a small room next to my chambers where you can sleep. You must be aware that I will not go easy on you just because you are the son of my former pupil. In fact, quite the opposite, after all, I have a reputation to uphold."

"I understand," Chizuru answered, his eyes smouldering with determination.

"First, I need to see what stage of ability you are at," Saito stood and beckoned to the boy before he walked out of the room. Everyone else followed the two to the dojo where Saito handed Chizuru a wooden sword. The orange eyed boy walked to the edge of the room, removed his katanas from his belt and left them leaning against the wall, his hand pausing on the hilt before he turned away. Saito followed suit and joined him in the centre of the room.

"Attack me," Saito ordered, his eyes narrowed in readiness," with your full power." Chizuru closed his eyes and took in a deep breath as his body flowed into a starting position. His eyes opened slowly as a calm expression slid onto his face, the only thing that showed that he was taking this fight seriously was his burning eyes which focused on Saito.

For a moment he disappeared from sight, only to reappear in a clash of swords, Saito's eyes widened in shock as he defended himself against the younger man. After a few minutes of parrying his attacks, Saito lunged and tested Chizuru's defensive capabilities. Soon Saito was forced to use one of his signature moves, where he ducks below his opponent's sword and slices at their side. However, due to the speed of Chizuru's swing, Saito was unable to stop his wooden sword and felt a rib crack when his blow connected. For a moment the two fighters stood frozen, a small trickle of blood escaped the corner of the boy's mouth.

Suddenly Chizuru snarled, his eyes growing red and his canines extended. He threw his wooden sword at Saito who only just managed to miss getting impaled by it. The wooden sword flew through the air, buried itself in the wall and hung there. A cut opened on Saito's which bled onto his scarf, dying it crimson. The boy flew at him with a fist ready to strike, a murderous expression on his face.

"Stop it!" Shironosuke cried, her voice resounded in Chizuru's head and he stopped instantly, his features returning to normal, "Please stop it," tears were running down her face. He stared in shock at her before noticing the pained groans around him. Shinpachi and Heisuke were lying on the floor; Shinpachi was staring in surprise up at the ceiling and Heisuke was cradling a bleeding nose.

"What happened?" he asked, the pain in his side getting worse.

"They noticed you lose control and tried to stop you, I guess from the way you acted, you didn't really notice them," Hijikata explained, a frown on his face.

"Forgive me, that should not have happened," Chizuru gasped, clutching his side. Shironosuke ran up and knelt beside him, putting a gentle yet hesitant hand on his shoulder.

"Miss, I have to thank you for stopping me. Your voice saved at least two lives today," he smiled at her with pain filled eyes, before looking at his duelling opponent, "Saito-dono..." Saito silenced him by raising a hand.

"I am at fault as well. I should have stopped that last attack but you had pushed me into a corner. Unfortunately, due to my error, your rib is now broken." Shironosuke gasped, knowing what sort of damage a broken rib could do. Chizuru let out a chuckle and nodded over to the two captains who were picking themselves off the floor.

"I think I deserve a little pain in compensation for taking them down." Heisuke jumped to his feet and started yelling about how he let himself be hit and that there was no way a weakling such as Chizuru could take him down. This lightened the mood in the room considerably as everyone started to laugh at his antics. Saito walked over and knelt in front of the injured boy.

"At least let me bind your wounds."

"Thank you but no, I can take care of my own wounds," Chizuru stood and slowly made his way out of the room.

"Running off to lick your wounds, you're as much of a mutt as you father was," Okita sneered.

"If my father was a mutt then I am a wolf. I'm sure you know the pride of being a wolf, Shinsengumi Taicho-san," Chizuru hardly looked at Sanosuke as he passed him in the doorway.

"Teme..."

"Sano, enough! You were asking for that," Hijikata spoke sternly before turning to Shironosuke, "Go see if you can offer him any assistance with his first aid."

"Yes sir," Shironosuke ran out of the room and found Chizuru bracing himself against the wall, pained gasped slipping between his gritted teeth.

"Let me help you," she ran up and put an arm over his shoulder and half carried him to the room he would be staying in. As they stood outside the door, he tried to push her away.

"That's enough, I don't need any more help," the way he was trying to get rid of her was desperate and made Shironosuke curious as to what he was hiding.

"You will let me help you!" she mimicked Hijikata's commanding tone, she felt the man next to her tense.

"Is that an order?" She looked up to see his orange eyes inspecting the expression on her face. He watched as her jaw was set with determination, his eyes softened.

"It is!" she seemed so unused to giving orders that he couldn't help the gentle laughter that escaped his mouth. She blushed brightly and opened his door; she let go of him and hesitantly turned back to close the door. She squeaked when she felt his arms wrap around her, his chest pressing against her back.

"You know, you haven't told me what your name is yet," he breathed in her ear making her shiver and moan as the warm air tickled her skin.

"Chizuru Yukimura," she managed to whisper.

"Well Shironosuke, I'll let you know now," Shironosuke turned round and looked at him confused, "I will never touch you or anything like that." Shironosuke had begun to take off the top half of his kimono, she paused in her efforts.

"I don't understand." Chizuru stared pointedly at the door and she realized that there was someone outside listening into their conversation.

"You may find me disgusting but I am into guys not women." She froze and he took the chance to shrug out of the rest of his top clothing, gasping painfully when he aggravated his wound. He turned his back on her as he curled around his wound, easing the strain on it. Shironosuke shook her head and looked back up, only to gasp when she saw a long half healed slash that stretched from his right shoulder across his back to end at his left hip. Half of the cut was hidden by a bandage which was tied tightly around his chest.

"How did this happen?" she whispered as she gently traced his injury, not quite touching it.

"I awoke to my bloodline before my eldest brother. What you see before you is the result of his displeasure. He used our father's katana which, unfortunately, is one of the 7 devil slaying swords. As you can see, despite a month passing, I am still healing." Shironosuke sighed and went to unwrap the bandage only to have her hand caught in Chizuru's hand.

"The wound probably still weeps, you will have to have to get fresh bandages and a bucket of water with a clean rag, else this will get messy."

"Right," Shironosuke ran out of the room, leaving the door wide open.

"Darn that kid," Chizuru pushed himself up onto his knees, "left the door open." As he began to climb to his feet, he felt something tear on his back. His body spammed as a wave of agony flowed through his body, throwing him to the floor. His breaths came out as broken pants as he fought the urge to scream.

Somewhere on the edge of his consciousness he heard footsteps approaching and forced his body to roll onto his side so that he looked like he was asleep. He heard a masculine gasp and hurried footsteps towards him. He felt something push against his back, aggravating the old wound, he couldn't help the yelp that ripped from his throat and flinched away from the man.

"Easy, you can't leave your back bleeding like that." Chizuru cracked a feverish eye open and looked up at a young man with brown hair and piercing purple eyes.

"Yamazaki-kun?" Shironosuke walked in, only to spot the state Chizuru's back was in, "Chizuru-kun, what happened?" He shook his head and gasped in pain.

"Shi...Shironosuke," he gasped, "Close...Door." She jumped to her feet and slammed the door, not noticing Sanosuke walking away from his seated eavesdropping position.

"We need to remove these bandages," Yamazaki said, Chizuru flinched and grabbed his hand, stopping his movements.

"Both of you," he snarled through gritted teeth, "Promise not to tell anyone about what you will see. Promise me or leave!" They stared at him in shock before both promising on their honor that they would not reveal his secret. His body went limp as his strength fled from his body; it was all he could do to keep his eyes open. Together, Shironosuke and Yamazaki unwound the bandage and blushed as she took in Chizuru's chest.

"You're a woman," she spoke almost silently; Chizuru nodded and held and arm up to cover as much of her breasts as she could. Yamazaki froze and blushed brightly as he saw her curvaceous body.

"Please don't tell, Mister," she whispered as her eyes flickered shut and she gave into the feverish pain.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A gentle knock on the door woke Chizuru from her slumber. Despite having been bedridden for the last couple of days, her fever had yet to go down. She looked towards the door as it opened and struggled to sit up when Saito and Hijikata walked in.

"No," Hijikata gently stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder, "please, don't get up."

"Sir," she laid back down again, thankful for the bandages that were tied so tightly around her chest that she looked like a man, "Forgive me, firstly I come and ask for lodgings here without forewarning, and now, I haven't been able to earn my keep."

"There will be plenty of time for you to do so once you are healed. For now, just focus on recovering," a kind smile lit up Hijikata's face as he rearranged her blanket to keep her warm.

"Chizuru," Saito began, looking down at her with sad eyes, "Forgive me for not noticing how bad your injury was before I tested you. I..." She stopped him with a ghost of a touch on his hand and smiled up at him.

"If I had thought my injury was serious enough to impede my movements, I would have asked you to forego the test until a later time. I am the one at fault," Chizuru spoke in a tone that Saito couldn't argue back at and he relaxed.

"We'll leave you to get some rest," the Vice Commander got to his feet and walked out of the room with Saito following, shutting the door silently behind them. A few minutes later, Shironosuke walked in with a bowl of rice porridge and she sat herself down next to the injured woman.

"Heh, seems as though the rumour of me liking men has been spread about," Chizuru sniggered, "I think the only man to come in here on his own is Yamazaki." She laughed dryly before pulling a hand through her hair; she hadn't bothered to tie it up. Shironosuke saw the tell tale twitch of Chizuru's eyebrows and knew that someone was, once again, eavesdropping on them.

"Tell me Shironosuke, what are the guys like here?" Chizuru asked, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"What do you mean?" Shironosuke blushed, understanding her completely.

"Come on, don't even try to tell me that you have lived here for over a year and no one has piqued your interest," she laughed, an eyebrow raised as Shironosuke shook her head in embarrassment.

Well, if you're not going to tell me, then I'll guess," Shironosuke sighed and sat Chizuru up slowly, trying not to reopen her wound. The blue haired woman bit back a snarl, she knew that Shironosuke had to change her bandages but that didn't make the pain any less. Once she was sat, the pain faded slightly and she was able to think again.

"Right, I think we can eliminate Kondou-san off the list of guys you like. Whilst he is kind and gentle, the occasions you come into contact with him are either formal or structured. It reminds me of the times I tried to meet my father when I was young," Shironosuke nodded, "next to take off the list would be Sannan-san." Shironosuke gasped, everyone was meant to believe that Sannan-san was dead, since that was the easiest way to hide his condition as a fury. "Though you care for him, there is something about the former Vice Commander that terrifies you," Shironosuke shuddered and Chizuru could feel tension rolling off the eavesdropper on waves.

"Moving onto Sanosuke," Shironosuke looked away, her hands paused as she removed Chizuru's bandages, "you like him, that's clear as day. His nice to look at but I just can't get on with his personality," Shironosuke opened her mouth to argue but Chizuru raised a hand to silence her, "you've lived with him a lot longer than I have so you have probably seen more sides of him than I have, next ...hmmm Heisuke and Shinpachi. I get the feeling that you see them as brothers more than anything," Shironosuke looked guilty and nodded.

"Now Okita, he's gorgeous, has a great personality and is sensitive to other people's emotions. I might even try to make him mine," she stuck her tongue out teasingly, making Shironosuke giggle.

"What impressions do you get from Saito-san?" Shironosuke asked as she washed down Chizuru's back. The injured woman's eyes smouldered as she thought about her response.

"Shironosuke," her voice was serious, "I have heard many stories about Saito-dono from my father. Even before I met him, I knew that he was a remarkable man, Now that I have met him and crossed swords with him, I realise that the tales my father told me were not exaggerated, in fact they don't do his skill justice," she tilted her head back onto Shironosuke's shoulder who was sat behind her, "I'm afraid that if you say that he is the one you like then I would have to challenge you to a duel," whilst Chizuru's voice was serious she was smiling sadly. Shironosuke laughed softly as she finished wrapping Chizuru's breast, making her as flat-chested as a ma, she was about to move lower to wrap the bottom half of the wound when she heard Chizuru start to speak again.

"From your reaction, it's not Saito-dono. That leaves the demon Vice Commander of the Shinsengumi, Toshizo Hijikata," Shironosuke flinched away embarrassed, on instinct Chizuru sat up and twisted to look round at the other girl, however, she moved too fast for her body's condition. Her world exploded into white light and her senses shut down.

Chizuru didn't know how long it had taken to regain consciousness but she was on all fours, her nails tearing into the futon below her. An icy sweat covered her numb body as she shivered and panted heavily as the aftershocks of the agony she had just felt washed over her. She could hear numerous running footsteps hurrying towards her. She swallowed and winced, it felt like her throat had been torn apart. The door slammed open, revealing all the Captains, their weapons ready in their hands.

"Shironosuke!" Heisuke ran in and grabbed the younger girl who was sat trembling in the corner, as far away from Chizuru as she could get. He pulled her past the woman, who built up enough strength to look at her.

"Chi...Shironosuke," her sore throat making her voice animalistic; Shironosuke started and fled, not once looking back at her. Chizuru frowned in hurt before looking up at the men around her, whose expressions ranged from fury to understanding. Okita sighed and walked in, laying his spear next to her futon. HE sat behind her and gently pulled her backwards so that she was sat comfortably, her legs splayed uselessly in front of her. Her head bowed under its own weight, she no longer had the strength to raise it.

"Souji, how can you just sit there and help him after he just attacked Shironosuke completely unprovoked," Shinpachi shouted, making Chizuru flinch.

"Shinpachi, I know that you heard that roar and felt the explosion of his chi, what was the main feeling that filled them both?" Okita picked up the roll of bandage that Shironosuke had dropped and continued to wrap Chizuru's wound; he had to hold her shoulder to steady her, else she would have just fallen to the ground in her exhausted state.

"Agony," Hijikata answered before Shinpachi, who tutted and turned away. Okita let go of her hand for a second as he needed two hands to tie off the end of the bandage. As soon as he did so, she started to fall backwards; he gently caught her and carefully lowered her onto her side so that she didn't put pressure on her back.

"Thank you," her hoarse whisper slipped into his ears as her eyes flickered shut and her breathing evened out.

"I don't think he was aware of his loss of control," Okita started.

"What do you mean?" Hijikata walked in and sat beside Okita, their voices no more than whispers.

"Thinking about the size and intensity of the blast of chi and the depth of the emotion conveyed within it, I think it's highly unlikely that he was conscious when it happened," he looked over at Saito, "If you think back to your fight, when he lost control, his chi was not as strong as it was just now. That must mean that he has a subconscious limiter on his power," Okita gently pushed a lock of hair out of Chizuru's face, Sanosuke noticed the gesture and smirked.

"Just like how a master will limit his chi unless he is in a fight," Hijikata mused, before starting when an idea hit him; he looked to see Okita nodding knowingly.

"That means that... Saito, he was only using a fraction of his power to fight you." Saito's eyes narrowed.

"I admit that it's insulting to think that he was going easy on my, however, we cannot forget that he was already badly injured. His body may have limited his power to a level it could handle in the weakened state he was in," they went silent for a moment, staring at the sleeping brunette.

"Yamazaki, I want you to take over his care. I don't want Shironosuke near him for a bit," Hijikata stood and went to find Heisuke and Shironosuke.

"Yes Sir," a voice came from outside the room and Yamazaki walked into view.

"Seems like we should leave him to rest," Okita rose to his feet and walked out of the room, everyone, expect for Yamazaki, followed him.

"That was too close," Yamazaki sighed.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

It had been a fortnight since Kazeryu's loss of control and she had recovered some of her lost strength. The cut on her back was still raw but no longer gave her so much grief. Shironosuke still avoided coming near her room and Kazeryu couldn't help but feel lonely. She sat, propped up against the wall, cleaning her sword when she felt Yamazaki's presence approaching.

"Yo," she said as he opened the door silently.

"Sensed me, huh?" he smiled; it had become a game for him to try and sneak into the room without her knowledge. She smirked at him and sheathed her sword with a click. She was about to lean it against the wall when she froze, a familiar presence brushing against hers.

"What's wrong?" Yamazaki approached her. She closed her eyes for a moment and spread out her senses to see why that man was here. Feeling him approach Shironosuke made her nervous and she managed to tune into Heisuke's, Hijikata's and Okita's chi and pushed them towards Shironosuke's position.

"Shironosuke is in danger!" She slowly climbed to her feet, only to have Yamazaki block her path.

"My Father is on your side?!" she heard Shironosuke's voice, the girl sounded so confused.

"Yamazaki, get out of my way or Shironosuke will be taken," the air around her darkened and he jumped back on instinct.

"Run or you'll get hurt," she whispered, her canines growing long and sharp. He shook his head, unable to flee from his duty. She sighed, walked to the door and slowly opened it; as she did so she removed her power limiters, allowing the full force of her chi to leak out. She sent it out to swirl around Shironosuke in a warm, comforting embrace; the girl gasped and looked round, only to see Kazeryu standing tall and proud in the doorway, her kimono only being loosely held together by an obi.

"Tell me Kazuma, what makes you think that you can approach Shironosuke-hime without permission," Kazeryu spoke with a voice that was an octave lower than normal, and once again Heisuke had to double take to make sure that it wasn't Ryunosuke in front of him.

"Ibuki-sama, I did not know you were here," the blond devil bowed, not looking up at her.

"Shironosuke-chan, are you okay?" the girl nodded, "you should come here and see to Yamazaki, I was unable to hold back my power and, as a human, he has been affected by it." Shironosuke ran up and managed to pull Yamazaki onto her back and walked onto the walkway before Kazuma looked up. His eyes widened in shock as he took in Kazeryu's appearance, a snarl curled his lips.

"Pretending to be your father, huh?!" he unsheathed his sword, "I wonder what Kirinosuke would say if he heard about this." Kazeryu's eyes instantly turned red, she unsheathed her sword and threw away the sheath.

"Has that child hit adulthood yet or is he still a disgrace to the Ibuki clan? And yet, you are still friendly with him? You should give more thought to your reputation, Boy!" Kazuma slammed off the rock he was stood on and clashed swords with Kazeryu. With the strike of metal drowning their words out, Kazuma sighed.

"What do you have them call you?" he asked, dodging her lunge.

"Kazeryu, they think I'm a man," she blocked his swing, bringing them close together.

"Why are you so weak, your chi is as formidable as ever but your body has no strength?" a frown clouded his features.

"My brother's parting gift was full of his displeasure. The thing closest to hand was Oni Kamitsuki, father's sword," Kazeryu saw Kazuma's frown turn into a look of horror.

"Have you taken Shironosuke-hime's blood?"

"She's scared enough as it is, I can't go asking to drink her blood. That would definitely get me kicked out of this place, once and for all."

"Then I must insist that you take some of mine. Whilst we devils so not need to consume blood, you of the Ibuki clan bloodline can speed up your body's healing process by drinking the blood of others," he barely dodged the thrust of her sword, allowing her to nick and draw blood on his shoulder.

"I can't do that with everyone watching," her eyes flashed around her audience, "I need you to strike me so that I can somehow slump into you. I only need a mouthful of your blood to heal this injury and more." He stared into her eyes and saw the determination that was held within them. He pulled his face into a sneer and clashed swords with her, bringing her in close. In a flash, his foot connected with her stomach and he kicked her into the room she had just come out of. A loud bang sounded as she slammed into the back wall, breath was forced from her. As she slid down the wall, Kazuma thrust his sword into her abdomen. She grunted in pain as she fell limply forward, her head falling onto his shoulder. He felt her canines pierce his skin and heard her gulp down a couple of mouthfuls of blood. Kazuma reached down and grabbed a handful of hair and pulled her off him, he held her up as he withdrew his sword from her body. He watched as her eyes returned to their original colour.

"NO!" Okita ran towards them, his spear ready in his hand; Kazuma threw Kazeryu at the man and he caught her with one hand, pulling her to his chest, his spear still pointed at the enemy devil. The fury on his face made Kazuma stop walking and sigh.

"I won't take Shironosuke today, and now that her bodyguard is dead, there will be nothing to stop me from taking her next time," he sneered before fading into thin air.

"Okita," He turned the girl over in his arms so that she was facing him.

"I'm here kid," he whispered as he saw the pain in her eyes, he vaguely registered the other two Captains as they ran over and knelt down next to him. Her hand reached up and grabbed the edge of his shirt.

"He will be back... protect Shironosuke for me..." she coughed, a trickle of blood escaping her mouth.

"I would have protected her even if you hadn't asked me, now I'll have to keep both eyes on her," he smiled sadly. A cough wracked her body and a pained gasp split the air before she gritted her teeth against the agony she was feeling. Orange eyes moved from a yellow pair to a purple pair.

"Hijikata-san, it seems that I will never be of use to you or the Shinsengumi, please forgive me," she whispered, tears gathering in her eyes.

"You saved Shironosuke from that devil, you have proved yourself completely," his voice was soft as he took her free hand, squeezing it gently at her relieved smile.

"If I survive this, leave me with a local doctor when you move to the new headquarters, I don't want to be a burden anymore." Hijikata was about to argue with her when he saw her eyes start to close.

"No, stay with us," her eyes focused again for a moment before they closed completely, her hand on Okita's shirt went limp and fell onto her stomach and her head rolled onto his chest. Her hair covered part of her face which Okita gently brushed out of her face.

"He's so young, hardly a man yet," he snarled, a single tear escaped and trickled down his cheek. Over the past few weeks he had sat with Kazeryu and helped care for him, though he was never allowed in the room when she was being washed or when her bandages were being changed. He had just thought that it was just Yamazaki being overprotective.

"He's not dead," Hijikata gasped as he felt Kazeryu's pulse on her neck, "Heisuke, go get the doctor." The boy ran off, passing Shironosuke who was returning from looking after a very dazed Yamazaki. She rounded the corner and gasped when she saw Kazeryu covered in blood. She ran over and helped the men take care of her, trying to stop the bleeding as well as fighting to keep the woman's identity a secret.

"We will take him with us when we move," Hijikata spoke softly.

"We don't have the resources to have one of our members look after him continually," Sannan-san walked round the corner, just in front of Heisuke and a doctor.

"That may be so but I want to have him close so that he can join us when he has recovered," Sannan began to argue but halted when he saw the look in Hijikata's eyes, "You didn't see him fight. Despite already being injured, he managed to wound that devil."

The doctor fussed over wound, unwinding the lower part of the bandage around her torso, he cast his eyes over the slow healing cut on her back and left it alone, happy with how Shironosuke and Yamazaki had been treating it.

...

An hour later, Hijikata and Okita were sat outside Kazeryu's room, waiting for the doctor to finish his examination. They turned when they heard the door slide open and saw the doctor wiping his hands dry on a cloth.

"He's stable but I think his idea of being left with a doctor should be carried out. His body has shut down his consciousness so that it can focus on healing," the man said, Okita gulped.

"So, you mean..." his yellow eyes pierced the doctor's.

"Yes, Kazeryu is in a coma. I've done what I can and Shironosuke has enough medical knowledge to look after him. I'll be back tomorrow with fresh bandages," the doctor bowed and walked away.

"We move headquarters in a week, how are we meant to transport a comatose man without our enemies using it as a chance to attack or without him becoming a target," Hijikata growled as his mind flew through different scenarios.

"I'll take him on horseback, Kondou wants someone to go and make contact with a local doctor anyway," Okita said, staring at the unconscious man.

"I can write a letter to introduce you to Matsumoto-sensei, he's an old friend of my father's," Shironosuke offered and Hijikata nodded.

"Okita, I want you to take Kazeryu to Matsumoto-sensei after the doctor has visited tomorrow," Hijikata commanded and the red haired man nodded.

...

"Take good care of him, Souji," Heisuke said seriously as he watched Hijikata hand the unconscious Kazeryu, wrapped in a blanket, up to Okita, who was seated on a horse.

"I will, I'll see you when you arrive in Edo," the men around him nodded and he kicked his horse, sending it galloping out of the grounds. The moon was high in the sky by the time he left, so there were hardly any people on the roads to see him pass.

After a few miles out of town, he slowed the horse to a walk and let it set its own pace for the long journey to Edo.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The instant she stirred from sleep, she knew that all her injuries had fully healed. Her once dulled senses had sharpened to a knife point; she could hear the soft stringed music of a spider vibrating the strands of its web. She could sense someone sat in a room on the other side of the compound, a low grating and the scent of crushed herbs told her that she was living at the home of someone who studied medicine. She opened her eyes and sat up, she felt like she had just woken up from a good night's sleep, though from the scent of the wind she knew that the seasons had changed. Checking that her kimono was in place, she stood and opened the door. A light breeze rippled through her hair which, she noticed, had grown a couple of inches longer since she had last brushed it. As she stepped down into the garden, she heard her caretaker climb to their feet. She surmised that he was male as she took in the sounds of his powerful footsteps and the rustle of his clothes. She heard a door open behind her and smiled at his shocked gasp.

"Chizuru-san, it's good to see you up and about, however, don't strain yourself," his voice was gentle as it washed over her and she looked round to see a bald man smiling at her, "My name is Matsumoto, I've been charged with you welfare by the leaders of the Shinsengumi," he explained , she kept her face emotionless.

"Where am I? This place is not Kyoto," he was surprised at her deep, warm voice and nodded.

"You're in Edo, when the Shinsengumi relocated they brought you along with them," shock filtered across her face, "they said you would probably want to rejoin them after you recovered."

"Can I go back to them?" her voice sounded uncertain and he smiled with a nod.

"I'm going to their headquarters tomorrow to do a medical exam on the men; if you'd like, you can come too." She grinned, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"I'd like to see you try and stop me." At that moment, her stomach roared with disapproval at being empty, she blushed when the doctor laughed.

"You haven't eaten for four months. Come, let's fill that stomach of yours," she followed him to the kitchen and together they made a feast fit for a king, which she managed to polish off almost single-handedly.

"Rest today, I'll come get you when I'm ready to leave tomorrow," he said as he cleared away the bowls from their meal. Chizuru closed her eyes for a moment and felt a familiar thrumming from the room she had been sleeping in and, following it, found her katana displayed proudly in a stand above her pillow. It drew her closer, willing her to draw it once again. Always ready for some practise, she tied her hair up with a string, grabbed her sword and headed out to the yard. Once there, she started off going through some simple techniques, using them as a stretching exercise. After a while, she started including more complicated routines, her body revelling in being active after the last few months of sleep. Her movements were fluid and graceful, much like a jaguar stalking its prey. Her katana sang its delight at being unleashed as it swept through the air.

She didn't know how long she had been out in the garden and so was startled when the doctor called her in for dinner. She smiled as she sheathed her sword; it thrummed happily at being attached to its master's side once again.

"I see that you are fully recovered. I think I'll be able to leave you with the Shinsengumi tomorrow," he laughed gently and she smiled.

"You were watching," she stated and he shrugged jovially.

"You are incredibly talented, to make something so deadly look so beautiful betrays your skill level. I would even go so far as saying you are a master," his eyes were serious as he assessed her reaction.

"I had to become strong, I have an older brother who excels in swordsmanship, he and his mother don't care much for me and frequently beat me for their displeasure. I learnt sword play for my own survival, well, that was the case at first. I soon realised that I had a natural affinity with the art and would spend hours practising in secret. However, I never grew confident enough to take on my brother, I left home without challenging him and I don't ever want to return to that house," she curled up her knees to her chest and rested her head on them.

"You have a new home and a family to return to," he ruffled a hand in her hair , "the Shinsengumi will take good care of you, and they're a lively bunch, no doubt about that." She laughed and relaxed, she couldn't wait until tomorrow to see her comrades again. That night she dreamt if green eyes and a soft, kind voice.

...

Chizuru was awake the instant the sky began to lighten, heralding the dawn. She bathed herself, wrapped her chest, and dressed into her travelling gear as she had no other clothes besides female kimonos and she was not ready to be recognised as a woman just yet. As soon as she heard Matsumoto-sensei's door open, she was out of her room and stood beside him in a flash. He laughed at her behaviour and rubbed his head.

"I think we can get breakfast on the way," he chortled, he made his way to his clinic to pick up his bags before leading the way to the Shinsengumi headquarters. After a small bowl of ramen, they were off again.

Walking along the road to the gate of the headquarters, Chizuru stopped and looked at the wall. The doctor instantly read her intentions and grinned.

"Just don't get caught." She turned her cat like eyes to him and raised a playful eyebrow. Her muscles bunched and she jumped and ran along the wall to get a better view of the inside of the estate, before disappearing from view. Matsumoto schooled his expression into one of seriousness and continued on to the front gate.

"Sensei," Hijikata greeted the doctor at the gate and led him through to the dojo so he could set up his equipment.

"Chizuru's condition has changed slightly," the doctor spoke, answering the Vice Commander's silent question, "She has begun to react to stimuli now," Hijikata looked relieved.

"He may well stay asleep for a long time. I cannot predict when or if he will regain consciousness." Hijikata sobered and sighed before walking off to get everyone into the dojo to have their exam.

...

"I can't believe that man, trying to make me take my clothes off!" Chizuru heard a voice say and she caught sight of a strange man talking to Shironosuke. She watched as the girl ran off towards the dojo and leapt down from the wall, she walked up to the man and sniggered.

"Never thought I'd see a grown man act like a little girl," the man turned furious.

"How dare you!? Don't you know who I am!?"

"Nope, but I know one thing," she narrowed her eyes at him and he froze, "I don't like your chi." Chizuru walked away, leaving him trembling in fear.

As soon as she was out of his eye line, she broke into a run and skidded round the corner to see Shironosuke standing on the walkway above her, staring into the dojo. Silently, Chizuru vaulted over the railing and came to stand next to the brunette. She peered into the room and saw that all the guys were topless. Shinpachi walked past Okita only to pause when the red head flexed his muscles and together they showed off their body's prowess and slipped into strange stances. Chizuru tried desperately not to laugh but when she heard Shironosuke chuckle, she couldn't help but join in. Her chi bloomed and enveloped everyone in the dojo; they could all feel her joy and amusement.

"I could get used to seeing that," she laughed, only to have Shironosuke wrap her arms around her waist, hugging her; tears of relief rolling down her cheeks.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she sobbed, Chizuru's expression softened as she wrapped her arms around the shorter woman.

"I didn't mean to worry you so much," she pulled one hand up and rested it on Shironosuke's head, she looked up at everyone to see them staring at her in shock.

"Come on guys, I'm not a ghost," her voice bubbled over with mirth. She heard running footsteps and turned to see Hijikata hurrying over. His eyes widened when he saw her and halted.

"Why is everyone staring at me?" she pulled Shironosuke off of her and looked down at her. Suddenly she felt a flash of chi and managed to pull Shironosuke behind her as she unsheathed her sword to block Saito's attack. Her eyes narrowed as she took in all the emotions in his chi and knew that he didn't really believe that she was Chizuru. She could see in his eyes that he was completely serious about fighting her.

"Shironosuke," Chizuru spoke without taking her eyes off Saito, "go stand with the others. I don't want you to get hurt." She waited until Shinpachi grabbed Shironosuke's arm and pulled her behind him. Chizuru sighed and slowly moved into a simple combat starting position; her chi died instantly as she shut down her emotions, her eyes became blank as she completely focused on the fight. She relaxed, her sword came to rest by her side, the point directed at the floor. Saito's hair stood on end as he watched emptiness fill the 'man' in front of him. Despite his relaxed posture, Saito could not identify any openings and he realised that he couldn't predict what he was about to do. For the first time in a long time, he felt a cold chill of fear climb up his spine.

He inched forward bit by bit and was surprised when the brown haired man in front of him made no movements. Chizuru watched him approach and fought back the hurt and disappointment she felt at their cold greeting, she knew that she couldn't let her emotions get the better of her. A breeze wafted through the dojo and sent her hair cascading around her shoulders and waist.

"I don't understand why Saito-san wants to fight Chizuru-san," Shironosuke whispered to Heisuke who stood next to her.

"The boy we left at the doctor's home was completely different to the man standing in front of us, he was uncertain of himself, always apologising for being a burden. There was always something in his chi that reminded me of a cornered animal, wary but on the very edge of losing control. True, the pain from his wound could have brought about that feeling but I think that it was a learned behaviour. He was submissive, he was the prey," Shironosuke looked over at Chizuru as Heisuke continued his explanation, "Now it's the complete opposite. The man in front of us has a level of control over his own chi that I have only heard of in legend, he is proud and confident in his abilities and his chi feels like walking under cherry blossoms on a sunny spring morning, There is no doubt in him anymore, that man is a ferocious predator. There is no way such a change could happen from just healing his wounds or even from four months of meditation, which he did not have."

"That's right, he only woke up mid-morning yesterday," Matsumoto-sensei commented as he walked up to them.

"I still don't understand, the feeling that I get from Chizuru hasn't changed. He still acts the same way and the warmth of his chi is the same. Why can't you see that?"She pleaded with them to notice.

Chizuru sighed and slowly slid her sword into its sheath with a soft click. A humourless laugh fluttered off her lips as she broke eye contact with Saito who was still tense, ready to strike.

"Is that all?" She looked at Matsumoto-sensei with sad eyes, "guess I need to find a new home again." She turned and was about to walk away when she felt a hand grasp the back of her top.

"Chizuru, unleash your chi," Shironosuke begged her, struggling against Shinpachi and Heisuke who were trying to keep her away from the orange eyed threat in front of them.

"All of it," Hijikata ordered as he walked up behind her. Shironosuke sensed her hesitate and wrapped her arms around the taller woman, Chizuru felt her resolve weakening and stared stubbornly at the ceiling, her jaw tensing and un-tensing. With a sigh she relented and closed her eyes, releasing the normal amount of her chi whilst making sure to remove all her emotions from it.

"I said all of it! Don't hide from me, Boy!" Hijikata snapped, his chi flashing against hers. Her eyebrow twitched in irritation and she opened her eyes, ramping her chi up to half her complete strength. Some of the less experienced swordsmen fell to their knees, their heads bowed under the pressure of her chi.

"Don't play with us!" Shinpachi shouted making Shironosuke flinch.

"I'll only release my entire chi for a second, I want to limit the damage I cause," Chizuru whispered as she took a deep breath to ready herself, she knew that she wouldn't be able to hide her feelings this time.

The entirety of her chi swept over them like a tsunami, knocking out everyone except for the captains and Shironosuke, and forced all but Hijikata, Saito, Okita and Shironosuke to their knees. The instant they registered the chi, it was gone, once again reined in by Chizuru. Shironosuke gasped at the emotions that had flooded into her; joy at being reunited with them, hurt and disappointment at not being recognised and loneliness at the idea of having to move on. She could feel Chizuru shaking and squeezed her, only to have the woman in front of her drop to her knees, her hands covering her face.

"Chizuru," Okita whispered as he walked over and knelt down in front of her. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder and, with the other, tried to pull her hands away from her face.

"Chizuru," he said softly again and she looked at him; he chose not to show his surprise at seeing tears flowing down her face and smiled warmly at her.

"Welcome home," he rumbled as he moved his hand and placed it on the top of her head. He bottom lip trembled and she launched herself forward to hide her face in his chest.

"I'm home," her sobs distorted the words but everyone knew the solace she felt from being accepted back into their ranks. Okita recovered from his shock quickly and wrapped an arm around her waist, the other threaded into her hair as he held her to him. After a few minutes, she pulled away with a sniff and looked at the wet patch she had made on his shirt. A giggle bubbled up inside her but she stifled it and looked up at him with a soft smile.

"Woo, looks like Okita's got himself a boyfriend," Heisuke snorted in laughter. He took in Okita's furious expression and Chizuru's blush and laughed even harder, spurring everyone else into sounds of mirth. Okita flew to his feet, accidently dislodging Chizuru, sending her backwards with a bump. The sudden movement caused her top to open and they all saw that her chest was completely covered with bandages.

"Aren't you fully healed?" Hijikata asked, his brow furrowed into a frown.

"Good as new," she nodded and smiled as she touched her bandaged chest, "I don't feel comfortable without them now. It's strange to become so used to the feeling of having them against my skin," he eyes glowed with amusement as she took in their varied expressions.

"As much as we are glad to have you back, I think that we need to wake everyone up and continue with the medical exam," Kondou walked around the corner, his eyes revealing his delight at seeing her well, he walked up and placed a hand on her head, ruffling her hair. She turned and looked at the numerous unconscious soldiers lying littered around the place.

"I didn't want to hurt anyone," she then smirked slyly and turned to Hijikata, "I'll let you wake them up; after all, you were the one who ordered me to let loose." He snarled at her and threw a half hearted punch which she dodged with a laugh. He raised an eyebrow and gave chase and they danced together in a mock duel, their attacks never intended to hit the other. Despite being playful, everyone could see the graceful movements and the deadly motions that she displayed. Saito's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the performance in front of him.

"He has realised his potential," he spoke quietly, Shironosuke looked up to see his mouth pull up into a slight smile, "I wouldn't mind fighting him again."

"Hopefully not for a little while, I would prefer not to get any injuries so close to recovering from my last lot," Chizuru's laughing voice called back to him, causing him to let out a single laugh. She skidded to a stop beside Matsumoto-sensei and tapped him lightly on the cheek, waking him up.

"What happened?" he asked, rubbing his head in confusion as he picked himself up off the floor. He caught sight of her guilty expression and smirked,

"I guess everything was settled then," he laughed, she nodded, the gratitude she felt to him shone on her face.

"Well, wake up the others and let finish this medical exam," he walked away chuckling as he moved from person to person, wafting smelling salts beneath their noses, and instantly waking them up.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

It had been several months since Chizuru had reunited with the Shinsengumi, she had tried hard to not eavesdrop on the meetings that the leaders and the captains attended, but her heightened senses made every single word they said as clear as if she were sat beside them.

"Give your report Yamazaki-kun," Hijikata order the watcher.

"Right," there was a rustle of clothing as the young man moved to face Kondou, "There has been increased activity of imperialists having meetings at Shinabara. I suggest that we have a spy infiltrate and gather information," he bowed. Chizuru narrowed her eyes and silently made her way to the door of the room they were in.

"Just letting one of our me be hired as a guard for the geisha won't be enough to get the information we need, we have to get someone inside the room," Saito mused, thinking back to the mission to protect Shironosuke when she was pretending to be a Geisha's assistant.

"Then I guess you need to put a geisha in place," Chizuru slide the door open, her face pulled into a serious frown, "forgive me, I couldn't help but overhear." Itou took one look at her and let out a small shriek of fear, making her fix her eyes on him.

"Who do you suggest? Shironosuke?" Heisuke punched the ground as he glared at her.

"Goodness no," she shook her head, "I wouldn't put Shironosuke in such danger, I think I would be the best option to go with," everyone stared at her open mouthed in shock, "After all, I am the only one here who wouldn't be recognised by the enemy as I haven't left the grounds since I arrived."

"That's true, however you are a man, and how will you hide your gender?" Hijikata sent a piercing glance at her.

"I've thought about that. If I have a patron then I wouldn't have to serve any other men intimately. Plus if one of you captains become my patron then it would be easier to pass on information. As for acting female, I will move into Shinabara, being there all the time will allow me to learn female movements and their mannerisms. I doubt anyone would be able to tell the difference between me and a woman," a mischievous glint sparkled in her eyes.

"That might work," Kondou said his face pulled into a thoughtful frown, "All that's left if to decide who will be his patron." Chizuru bit her lip in concentration before answering.

"It needs to be someone who already frequents the red light district to avoid any suspicion, which narrows the possibilities to four people. If I think about it, Kondou is too important to have a connection like being a patron to a geisha, so that leaves us with you three," she turned to regard Heisuke, Shinpachi and Okita. Hijikata smirked and studied each of the guys.

"Heisuke's still too much like a kid, plus I doubt he would take a geisha who is taller than him."

"Hey!"

"Shinpachi is too honest for his own good and is a terrible actor."

"That's mean, Hijikata-san."

"I'm afraid that means you pull the short straw, Okita. Would you be willing to do this for the sake of the Shinsengumi?" Okita looked from Hijikata to Kondou a couple of times before sighing.

"I think I can manage, at least I don't have to dress up like a girl like Chizuru does," she pulled a grimace and made them laugh.

"Okay, I have an idea. Give me two days to settle in and then all of you come for a party," she paused and looked at Itou, "Itou-san, if you come with them," her eyes went ice cold, "I'll kill you." The man squeaked in fear before climbing to his feet and walked out of the room with a huff. Her fierce gaze watching him, Kondou was about to start talking but stopped when she held up a hand. She unsheathed her sword and silently rose to her feet, approached the door and thrust her sword through it. A loud gasp and a thump sounded from the other side of the door; she slid the door open to reveal Itou sat trembling on the walkway.

"If you are going to eavesdrop, then don't make it so obvious," he gulped and fled, she watched his chi until she knew that he had crawled into his futon to hide under the covers.

"As the one who will be directly involved with this case, I must ask permission to lead it," Kondou nodded and her face grew serious.

"I'll leave tomorrow. Yamazaki-san, I need you to go and find a kimono for me. It needs to be slightly tattered and not very appealing, like I have worn it on a long journey," the purple eyed man nodded.

"Okita, on your patrol tomorrow, you will find me being picked on by a couple of rounin. After you save me, take me to Shinabara, they will be expecting me. This will help initiate the contact between us and they would be less suspicious of you becoming my patron." He sighed and nodded, trying to ignore Heisuke's and Shinpachi's sniggers. Chizuru's expression filled with pain as she pulled her sheathed sword out of her belt and laid it on the floor in front of her.

"I must ask you to watch over my katana for me. It'll blow my cover if I take it with me," her hand trembled as she touched the hilt as if saying goodbye, this would be the first time in her life that she would be without it in sight. Suddenly she felt very vulnerable as she stood and walked out of the room; she glanced back once, her gaze lingering on the katana before he met Hijikata's eyes and he nodded.

...

"I can't believe I'm doing this. I know it was my idea, but they should have rejected it as a stupid idea," Chizuru complained as Shironosuke helped her put on the kimono. She looked round to see Shironosuke's bottom lip wobble and smiled warmly.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," she tousled Shironosuke's hair who sniffed. Her hands worked with practised fingers as she fastened Chizuru's obi.

"There, all done," she spoke quietly.

"Right, I should get gone before the town wakes up," she turned from Shironosuke and strode to the door, "see you in two days," she winked and disappeared from sight. Chizuru climbed over the wall and slipped away from headquarters without anyone noticing her. She travelled over roof tops until she found a secluded alleyway neat the border of Edo, she knelt and removed the bandages from her chest and pinned her hair messily up into the favoured female style. She made sure to stay hidden as she waited for Okita's patrol and as she watched for some rounin who would be perfect for the act she was about to put on.

In a stroke of fate, both turned up at the same time. A group of rounin were walking down the centre of the road, tormenting women as they walked past. Chizuru smirked and snuck in to a shop in front of them and waited for a moment before walking daintily out of the shop, pretending not to be aware of her surroundings; as if she were deep in thought.

"Hey Missy, you're standing in the way," a coarse voice sounded right next to her and she jumped and looked up at the thug, fear filled her expression. He reached forward with a sneer and grabbed her chin in a bruising grip.

"Now that I look at you closely, yer quite a looker," his friends sniggered as they surrounded her, blocking off any escape routes.

"Please Sir, let me go," she spoke in a soft voice which was an octave higher than normal, adding to her image of being innocent and younger than her actual age. They sniggered and whooped like a pack of hyena's cornering their prey.

"That voice is such a turn on," the leader pushed a hand inside her kimono to grope her breast.

"NO STOP!" she screamed, fighting against the man, only to get a fist planted into the side of her jaw, throwing her to the ground.

"Damn you, making a scene," the man snarled, kicking her in the stomach.

"What's going on here!?" a powerful voice rang through the air, causing the men to look round. As soon as they saw the blue coats of the Shinsengumi, they cursed and ran away. Chizuru cracked an eye open from her curled position on the floor, only to shut it tight with a shiver when she felt a hand on her trembling shoulder.

"Hey, are you alright?" a kind voice asked and she slowly twisted to look up at her rescuer, instantly recognising Okita's handsome face. He slowly reached forward and brushed her hair out of her face, it had fallen out of its style when she had hit the ground.

"Can you sit up?" she nodded and slowly pushed herself off the ground, her trembling limbs almost made her lose balance a couple of times and she internally smiled when she felt his hands guiding her. She yelped when she stretched her stomach, the bruising already beginning to heal.

"Captain, I don't think you should make her move anymore. She probably has internal bleeding," one of the soldiers said. Chizuru looked confused and then felt something trickle down her chin; she reached up and wiped it. Pulling her hand away, she saw that her fingers were stained with blood. Her arms gave way and she fell forwards, he reached out and caught her before she hit the ground.

"What's your name?" Okita asked as he gently slipped an arm under her knees and wrapped the other around her back.

"Shiro...nosuke," she winced as she spoke, her jaw protesting. HE carefully lifted her off the ground, her head tucked under his chin.

"Where should I take you?"

"Shinabara," her voice trailed off as her eyes closed, as she slipped into oblivion.

"She must have just arrived from the country," one of the soldiers' said as he carried his captain's spear. They made their way towards the red light district; Chizuru nestled in Okita's arms. She had woken half way into the journey but had kept her eyes closed and her body limp. She knew from the look in his eyes that he had recognised the situation but didn't seem to realise that the person he had saved was actually her. They entered Shinabara and made their way to the main building.

"Is anyone here?" Okita called, the girl in his arms stirring at his raised voice.

"How can I help you?" an older woman walked out of the side room, followed by two geishas.

"This child asked to be brought here," he knelt, allowing the women in front of him to have a good look at the girl in his arms, "Her name is Shironosuke." The older woman started, turned and whispered hurriedly into one of her companion's ears. They quickly roe to their feet and disappeared through a door. The woman turned back to Okita and nodded.

"We are expecting her, what happened?"

"She caught the eye of some rounin and refused their advances, they were beating her when we arrived," he explained, he felt the small body in his arms tremble at the memory.

"The poor dear! Please bring her this way," the woman led the way to one of the back rooms where a futon had been prepared, a bowl of water with a clean rag sat beside it. Okita gently laid the girl down and was about to pull away, only to meet resistance. He looked down to see her hand still fisted in his shirt; her eyes were full of fear.

"Don't worry," he put a hand on the top of her head, "You'll be safe here. I'll see you again soon." He gently eased her hand off of his shirt and stood, turning to the older woman.

"My friends and I will be coming here in two days, I'll check on her then," he turned to leave.

"Mister..." he started at the sound of her voice and half turned to look at the injured girl, "forgive me, I don't know your name." He grinned and turned away.

"Okita Souji," he lifted a hand in to the air in farewell "See you, Kid." He vanished from sight and the women around her started to clean the blood off her face.

"Souji-sama," she breathed, her eyes smouldering, the older woman next to her chuckled.

"Why don't you let him be your patron, that way you won't have to bed anyone else," she carefully unwrapped Chizuru's obi. Chizuru blushed brightly and looked down at her feet.

"I...couldn't possibly," she spluttered, the women laughed as her blush got brighter and brighter.

"Just see how he reacts to you when he sees you all dressed up in two days time. But for now, have a rest. I'll wake you when it's time to eat," the two women retired out of the room leaving her alone. Chizuru waited for a moment as she listened to them walk away, and then relaxed into the futon. She took a deep breath as she closed her eyes; she stretched out her senses throughout the building. She felt the aura of laughter and safety and allowed her overall chi to mimic the feeling. Chizuru slipped into a meditative state as she pushed the main part of her senses and chi into her sub-consciousness; so that, whilst she knows what is going on and what people are talking about, she was able to focus on what was happening right in front of her.

...

"So, do you think you could show us this girl you saved, Souji?" Heisuke asked teasingly as he pushed the door open to the best house in Shinabara. Okita sent a glare his way but remained silent as he also entered, followed by the rest of the Captains, Hijikata and Kondou

"Welcome, how can I help?" the receptionist asked, a smile on his face.

"We have a private room booked under the name Souji," Hijikata said, the man looked at his list and nodded. He rang a bell and a beautiful woman appeared from the side door.

"Please take them to the Sakura room and have a number of servers assigned to them," he ordered, the woman nodded, and then bowed to the men.

"Please, follow me," her voice low and seductive. She led them through a maze of corridors until they reached the room they had been designated. The walls had been delicately painted with plum and cherry blossoms, creating the illusion that they had just stepped into a forest at spring time. The woman waited for the Captains to walk in and was surprised when Okita paused and turned to her.

"How is Shironosuke?" he ignored Heisuke's teasing.

"She is well, but I fear for her," the woman looked away, her face creased in a frown.

"What do you mean?" his piercing eyes forcing answers out of her.

"Well, she's a pretty girl; there are many men who have asked to ... enjoy her for the night. If she doesn't get a patron soon then she won't be able to refuse them. To be used in such a way," she shuddered, "no one should have to go through that." Okita's eyes flashed in anger and he punched the door frame.

"Damn it, I should never have brought her here," everyone was shocked by his sudden display of emotion.

"Okita, settle down. What's done is done," Hijikata deadpanned, Okita turned on him with a snarl.

"If it affects you so much, then why don't you become her patron," Kondou spoke quietly, his face serious. Okita frowned and sat as he mused it over; whilst he knew that he had the duty to become Chizuru's patron, he wanted to save Chizuru.

"Excuse me," a gentle voice came from the door and they all looked round to see four servers, who were bowed waiting to be noticed.

"Come in," Hijikata invited them and they all shuffled in, the last one closing the door behind her, cutting off the guide from sight. The three women in front all introduced themselves as Kai, Megumi and Rin. The last girl turned, bowed and when she sat up, she opened her eyes and looked over at Okita; who gaped, wide eyed at her.

"My name is Chizuru, if it pleases you," she spoke gently.

"It pleases me very well," Heisuke said in a loud voice and patted the space next to him, "come, sit beside me, I want to know you better." She stood and was about to move towards him but was stopped when Okita suddenly appeared in front of her, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to sit in between him and Shironosuke.

"Ah, come on Souji. Let me have some fun!" Heisuke complained.

"You can have as much fun as you like, just not with her," his voice warned against argument.

"Chizuru," Hijikata murmured, his eyes widened as he turned to the 10th Division Captain, "Okita, are you saying this is the girl you saved?" The red head nodded and looked down at the petite blunette. She blushed and picked up the jug of sake and offered it to Okita, who sat and let her fill up his cup. She turned to Shironosuke, who shook her head.

"I don't drink," Chizuru stared at her for a moment before a grin stretched across her face at Shironosuke's blush. She placed the jug on the floor and glomped the younger girl.

"So cute," she squealed as she squeezed the girl, Chizuru moved her head so that her mouth was by the girl's ear.

"Shironosuke-chan," she let her chi surround the girl, allowing her to know who she was. She pulled away slightly and Shironosuke looked down and flushed.

"Chizuru! You shouldn't do that to the customers!" one of the other servers scolded. The eye's woman sat up with a huff, her kimono falling off her shoulders. Whilst it was still covering her breasts, it was giving the men a view of a lot of cleavage. They sat frozen as they stared at her chest until Okita ran his hands up her arms, pulling her kimono back up. She turned to him, her smouldering eyes meeting his lustful ones.

"Will you let me be your patron?" he asked in a deep husky voice, her face burst into a smile.

"With all my heart, yes," as soon as she had spoken he captured her lips in a passionate kiss that took her breath away.

"Easy Okita, we're here for a party. You can fulfil your duty to her as her patron another day," Kondou laughed, he was truly glad that Okita had found someone, even if it was a geisha.

"So my commanding officer says," Okita grinned as he pulled her onto his lap, an arm wrapped around her waist to keep her still. He handed her the sake bottle before picking up his cup and motioned for her to fill it, which she did with a shy smile.

"Ahhhh, come on! Why does Okita always get the girl?!" Shinpachi cried in frustration, only to have Kai sit close to him and brush her arm against his, he blushed bright red and backed away from her. He blushed even brighter when he realised that everyone was laughing at him.

"I think we have our answer," Heisuke sniggered, only to have Shinpachi's fist planted into his face. Heisuke snarled, jumped to his feet and was about to respond.

"Stop this nonsense," Hijikata snapped, ending the fight, "you're scaring the women." The two men looked around at the three geishas who sat trembling and wide eyed at their display of violence. Heisuke glanced at Chizuru and froze, his eyes widening in shock. They all turned to see what had surprised him so much and caught her as she quickly looked away, schooling her expression. They weren't able to see her previous expression was and Heisuke only shook his head to their unspoken question. In fact, he wasn't sure of what he had seen, it seemed too strange.

...

They stayed at the party until early the next morning, resulting in Heisuke and Shinpachi passing out and they had to be carried home by their comrades. Okita stopped before he walked out of the front door, turned and met the gaze of his mistress. Her smile didn't reach her sad eyes as she watched him leave. In a flash, his arms were wrapped around her and he had caught her lips with his. He pulled away after a moment and rested his forehead on hers.

"I'll be back soon," he whispered, his eyes glued to orange.

"I'll be waiting," she replied, her eyes full of affection. He planted a kiss on her forehead before disappearing out of the door.

...

The next day when Okita and Heisuke were washing their faces in the morning, the brown haired man asked the younger what he had seen. Heisuke looked away, afraid of what Okita's reaction would be.

"I think I can guess," the red head muttered, Heisuke looked up at him, "The way she shivered gave me an idea of what she was feeling. It could have been fear or... and judging by your reaction, fear was not an option; which leads me to believe that her expression was one of ecstasy." Heisuke nodded and they both sighed.

"You sure know how to pick them, Souji-san," he clapped his taller friend on the shoulder as he walked away.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Chizuru, a customer has requested your presence," Megumi told the brunette, Chizuru turned to the older woman and was about to say something when she paused, turned towards the door and watched as a tall, brown haired man walked it. Her eyes lit up as she drank in the sight of him, his green eyes catching the light, making them appear golden.

"Miss Megumi, please give my apologies to the man who requested me. My patron has just arrived," she inclined her head and gracefully walked over to her patron of a month.

"Okita-sama," she greeted him in a bowed position, her forehead almost touching the floor.

"What did I tell you about bowing to me, Shiro?" he purred her name, sending a shiver of pleasure up her spine. As she stood, her kimono slid down her arms, revealing a large amount of cleavage. He walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, his hand hanging by her breasts. Every now and then his fingers would brush against her flesh, sending shocks of bliss flying around her body.

She led him to a small, empty room and turned to him with a serious expression on her face when she closed the door.

"A mutual friend asked me to pass this onto you," she held out a neatly folded letter with the symbol of a flying dragon on it, "he also asked me to bring you to this room. There's a Choushu meeting next door." She pointed at the left side wall and Okita nodded, silently moved over and pressed his ear to the wall.

... (Inside the room)...

"Damn those Meibu wolves, always walking around like they own the place. What I wouldn't give to cut them down to size," a drunkard roared as he slammed his cup down.

"An army cannot function without its commander, how about we target Kondou? I've met him; although he's the commander, the man's a fool. He should be easy to eliminate," a weasel faced man named Itou chuckled nastily. Kazama turned his red eyes on the outspoken man, who cringed away from his gaze. The blond devil could sense the two people in the other room who were listening in on their conversation. He sent his chi out to investigate their intentions and was surprised to find that the male had a barrier around him, protecting him from identification and attack. He turned his attention to the woman who was knelt a ways away from the man and sent his chi into her. A fanged grin flashed in his mind and suddenly his consciousness was spread throughout the whole building in a second before returning to his body and he realised that she was monitoring everything that was being said or done. He opened his eyes and looked at the others in the room to see if they had noticed anything, but, by the way they were still arguing, he doubted it.

"Well Sensei," a large chubby man was speaking, "You can have Kondou but I want the brown haired captain. My dream girl appears but he got to her before I did. I'll kill him and make that whore mine! I might even chain her to the wall and use her whenever I want. I'll make her bare my children. Who knows, I might even let all you guys have a go with her," he sniggered horribly. They all jumped when they heard a loud bang of someone hitting the wall.

"What the...!? Someone's spying on us!" the cubby man roared and he pulled himself to his feet.

"I don't think they are spying on us," Kazama deadpanned as he uninterestedly watched everyone unsheathe their swords.

"Shut up! Let's go!" they opened the door and ran to the next door and flung it open, only to freeze in shock.

...Back with Chizuru and Okita...

She couldn't believe that he had just punched the wall, giving away their position and the fact that they were eavesdropping. In a second, she was on her feet, ran over to Okita who had turned around to go right the men in the room. She pushed him back up against the wall and ground her hips on his, making him stop struggling and gasp.

"You're a fool!" she snarled as she knelt and undid his trousers and pulled them down; her glare silencing his argument as she grabbed his half hard member and began to pump it, making him throw back his head and hit it against the wall. She could hear the men running to get them and knew that she would have to get Okita closer to an orgasm than he already was. She leant forward and took his now hard organ into her mouth, licking off the pre-cum. The feeling of her hot cavern closing over him almost made him cum like a boy on his first time. With a growl, he threaded a hand in her hair, releasing it from the hair style she had it in, and the other hand he used to brace himself on a nearby low cupboard as his legs started to shake with pleasure. His concentration was broken when she brought a hand up to play with his balls, tickling touches that sent him mad. Chizuru heard the door open and felt Okita's hand clench tightly in her hair as he reached his orgasm. A snarl ripped from his mouth as he released his seed into her mouth, and she did her best to swallow it all. The sound of her gulping down his essence was close to sending him over the edge a second time when he realised that they were being watched. He crouched, hiding his nakedness from view with a vicious growl, warning them away.

"You would dare to peep on someone in a house such as this!" he quickly pulled up and fastened his trousers and pulled Chizuru behind him.

"Teme, how dare you make fun of me! You knew I was in the next room, that's why you chose this room to get intimate with my woman, didn't you!?" the large man roared, his face red in anger.

"You know this man?" Okita turned to Chizuru without taking his eyes off the Choushu clansmen.

"Never seen him before in my life," she said confused as she grabbed hold of her patron's sleeve.

"I was the one who requested your company this evening; the one you rejected for this damn wolf of Meibu!" he shouted as he initiated the attack, his comrades following his lead. Okita met their charge with fists, smashing the first into the chubby man's face, breaking his nose and flooring him. The red head managed to push back the first wave of assailants but had temporarily forgotten about the large man who had pretended to be unconscious. The man jumped to his feet and launched himself at the object of his desire, only to be cut down by the blond devil he had thought of as an uneasy ally. Chizuru looked up at Kazama with wide eyes before nodding her thanks. She turned her gaze back to the battle in front of her; she watched Okita's back, taking in the muscle detail as he tensed. His eyes seemed to glow in delight as his enemies fell before him. She felt Kazama kneel down next to her, she turned to look at his lustful eyes.

"Ibuki-kun, you're aroused," he whispered as he leaned closer, "You haven't changed. Though normally, you have more control over your own body. I guess that show before made you let down your guard." His breath tickling her ear made her moan quietly and she forced herself to put a hand on his chest.  
"I cannot give myself to you, I have already chosen my mate," she gently cupped his cheek.

"What's with you women? Both you and Yukimura-hime have chosen human mates," he snarled, his eyes giving away his disappointment.

"Have you not thought that we have seen the devil blood in the men we have chosen?" he stared at her before turning to watch Okita fight for a moment, his eyes widened in realisation.

"The look of delight on his face, it's almost as if he were of the Ibuki bloodline. How can there be an almost full blooded human be standing in front of me with chi that resembles the purest and most secretive of bloodlines."

"My three times great grandfather had a twin sister who fell in love with a human man. She knew what she was doing was wrong was strictly forbidden and so she left the demon world and hid herself in the human world. The man you see in front of you is her descendent," she managed to explain as her breath began to come out in pants as she rubbed her legs together, trying to ease the ache.

"Go Kazama, before he sees you," she told him and he vanished into thin air with a smirk.

"Shiro!" Okita cried, she looked up to see one of the assailants flying at her with his sword drawn. She couldn't help the shriek that tore from her mouth as she flung herself out of the way. By a chance of fate, the man managed to run into the wall, hit his head and knocked himself out, the situation left her startled. By the time she had recovered, Okita had finished the fight and had come over to kneel in front of her.

"Chizuru, are you alright?" his eyes were full of anxiety. She nodded and tried to stand but her legs wouldn't support her. With a worried frown, he put an arm round her back and the other beneath her legs; whilst he did this, he accidently brushed against the apex of her legs and she moaned. When she realised the noise she had made; she clamped a hand over her hand and blushed.

"Just as I thought. You are just like me," he moved his arm against her again and was rewarded with a soft mewl, "Violence turns you on." She blushed even brighter and nodded, not meeting his gaze.

"Chizuru," his voice was serious as he pulled her face so that she would look at him, "Will you let me be the first man to love you completely?" She smiled in joy and he answered with a relieved smirk.

"The first and only man," she whispered as she kissed him lightly on the cheek. She pulled away quickly when she heard the thumping of footsteps and clung to him as he lifted her off the ground. The manager of the house ran up and gasped at the numerous unconscious persons who littered the ground.

"Forgive me good Sir; I had to react violently when they attacked us. They were intent on taking this woman's honour, and as her patron, I felt duty bound to stop them," he explained, the manager nodded in understanding and asked the two bouncers next to him to "remove the garbage from his house". As a way of apology, he took Okita (still carrying the blunette) to the best private room in the house and had a futon prepared for the both of them, free of charge. The man quickly bowed out of the room and shut the door with a snap behind him, Chizuru listened as he quickly shuffled away, leaving them in peace.

Okita laid her gently down on the futon and hesitantly knelt above her, he knew that this was her fist time and didn't want to hurt her. She saw the concern in his eyes and decided to take matters into her own hands, she flipped him onto his back and ground her hips into his hardened member, and he had done well to hide it from the manager. His breath caught in his throat and he pulled her down under him, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss, their tongues fighting for dominance which he won. With her being distracted by his tongue, she didn't notice him pull at her obi until it came undone and her kimono fell apart. The cold air made her skin goose bump which made it even more sensitive to his touch. He ran an exploratory hand inside her white inner kimono and cupped a breast, making her mewl. A sly grin stretched across his face as he pulled the last layer covering her body undone and fastened his mouth onto her nipple, teasing it with his teeth and sucking it, making her arch her back off the futon. With a lick, he let go and moved up to her red face and looked into her eyes.

"I think it's time I get my own back," he chuckled as he saw realisation flash across her face. Nut she wasn't quick enough to stop him as he slid down her body and pushed his face into the apex of her legs and took in a deep sniff of the scent of her arousal. With a slight purr, he licked her core and she moaned loudly pushing her hands into his hair, her grip almost painfully tight, He had to hold her legs apart so that he could get to her precious juices otherwise she would have put him in a headlock where he would neither be able to pleasure her or pull away. As soon as he pushed his tongue into her, he could feel just how close she was to an orgasm and so after one long lick he removed his tongue; moved up her body for a passionate kiss whilst he pushed in a finger and pumped it. Okita quickly added a second and used them to stretch her. AS he felt her walls begin to tense, he added in a third and pumped them all in at once.

"Okita!" her voice could probably be heard by everyone in the building, but at that exact moment, neither of them cared, they were too engrossed with each other to think about anyone or anything else. Pulling his finders out, he licked them as he watched her come down from her high, it was almost like watching an artist at work, the way he could touch her and get such vocal and arousing reactions.

"Shiro, are you ready?" he whispered as he undressed himself; her eyes memorising every detail of his body. His well formed muscle, his corded arms and legs, his rather substantial length. Her eyes flew wide at the sight of it and she gulped, although she had sucked and played with it, she still hadn't realised the actual size of it. Looking at her anxious expression, he looked down at his very hard organ and then back at her with a gentle smile.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Though, you've probably been warned of this by the women here already, it may sting when I enter for the first time," Chizuru nodded, she had been made to listen to the other women's talks of their first times. She looked up at him with a seductive smile on her face and opened up her legs; he could see the juices dripping from her clit and licked his lips.

"I'm ready," she almost moaned with anticipation, he didn't need telling twice as he positioned himself and pushed in, sheathing himself in one quick thrust. He felt her hymen break and held still even when he felt her hips move against his. He felt her hand on his cheek and looked into her flushed face.

"Please move," she gasped, he then pulled out and slowly pushed back in, causing her to mewl in delight. Soon they had a rhythm that sent both of them stumbling closer to the edge of bliss.

"Souji...harder," he only just made out her words between her moans and, grabbing her hips, he thrust hard into her. Her back arched as she screamed her pleasure, her muscles clenched around him causing him to release his seen inside her with a roar and she milked him for everything he had. He fell forward, moving just enough that he wouldn't crush her and they both laid there panting. After a few minutes, Okita pulled the covers over them, wrapped the petite woman up in his arms and together they fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

It had been a couple of months since the incident which led to Okita and Chizuru becoming intimate. Chizuru had continued to pass across letters to Okita; he still hadn't discovered that she and Chizuru was the same person.

...At the Shinsengumi Headquarters...

"Okita, I want you to take this letter to Chizuru, it's an order for him to return. We have collected enough information and have been able to pre-empt their assassination attempts. The Choushu are getting suspicious of someone spying on them during their time in Shinabara and we can't afford for them to suspect Chizuru," Hijikata said, his face creased into his usual frown. Okita nodded with a frown, he heard a chuckle and looked up to see a gentle smile on Hijikata's face.

"It will be acceptable for you to continue seeing Chizuru," Okita looked relieved at the Vice Commanders words, "Go and see your woman tonight." Okita bowed, picked up the letter that was sealed with the image of a wolf, and tucked it inside his shirt for good keeping. He stood and walked out in a nonchalant manner, everyone had gotten used to his relationship and so they didn't tease or embarrass him anymore, for which he was truly grateful.

...At Shinabara...

"So Miss, do you have a patron?" Chizuru looked at the short man in front of her and laughed internally.

"Yes Sir, I expect he'll arrive any minute now," she could already feel Okita's chi as he walked into the building.

"Aww, come on. Stop lying, I know you don't have anyone," the man grabbed her arm and roughly pulled her to him, causing her to hiss in pain. In desperation, as the man began to move his hand towards the opening of her kimono, she sent out a small portion of her chi and rubbed it up against Okita's chi, letting him know where she was and the situation she was in.

Feeling the panic in her chi, he ran as fast as he could past the shocked receptionist. HE slammed the door open and stormed into the room, the man holding Chizuru stoop up and moved in front of her.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?!" the short man roared, only to have Okita push him aside. The brown head pulled her to her feet by her hand and began to march out of the room when he was jolted to a stop. Okita halted and turned to see a pained expression on Chizuru's face, her other wrist was being held in a bruisingly tight grip by the short man.

"Who do you think you are, barging in here and taking her away from me?" the short man yanked her arm so hard that her shoulder dislocated, her scream of pain rattled the doors. Okita let go of her hand and flew at the man, forcing him to let go of Chizuru. She fell to her knees holding her arm, a pained snarl ripped from her gritted teeth. A loud thud made her look up and saw that Okita had knocked the man out with a single, nose crunching blow,

"Shiro, are you okay?" Okita ran up and took a careful look at her shoulder, "We'll have to put your shoulder back in place." He placed a hand on her back and the other lightly on her shoulder.

"Ready?" she nodded hesitantly, "okay, 3, 2," he cracked her shoulder into place and she bit back a snarl, He quickly undid her robe and bandaged her shoulder with some spare bandages he always carried around in his pocket. With the small length of bandage he had left, he fashioned a sling and gently moved her arm into it.

"I'm sorry, Okita," she whispered, looking down at her knees.

"Don't worry. It's a man's duty to save a damsel in distress, especially if she's beautiful," he laughed and she shook her head, tears welling in her eyes.

"No, not that. I'm sorry that now that I am hurt, I am now useless to you. I cannot give myself to you as you want," his eyes widened in shock before his expression became serious. He gently but firmly held her chin and raised her face so that she had to look at him.

"I don't come here just for your body. I come to see you as you are a person I want to find out more about and as a person I have grown to love," his face was filled with a mischievous smile, "though being able to be the only one to make love to you is quite the plus." She stared at him for a minute or two, taking in everything he had said.

"You love me for being me?" she whispered, a shard of guilt pierced her heart for not telling him who she really was but it was probably for the best that he didn't know.

"Yes," he pulled her to him, being careful of her shoulder, he placed a gentle kiss on her lips, "I love you, Chizuru." She couldn't help the tears of joy which trailed down her cheeks, he reached forward with a frown and wiped away one of the droplets.

"And I love you Okita, more than anything in the world," her voice bubbled in delight and a breathtaking smile appeared on his face. One that was different from his usual grin; now, his eyes were soft and smouldering with warmth and the corners of his lips were pulled up delicately. His brown hair framed his face in such a way that for a moment Chizuru seriously doubted that he was of neither the human nor the devil bloodline but had the blood of angels flowing through his veins. She leant forward and he met her half way, pulling her lips into a gentle kiss.

They sat in comfortable silence and she fell asleep in her arms, her soft breathing lulling into a doze. He jumped when he heard the door open and looked up to see Heisuke frowning.

"Sorry Souji, but you need to come back to headquarters," Okita sighed, planted a loving kiss on her forehead and smiled sadly when she opened her brown wide eyes and looked up at him. Chizuru searched his eyes and knew that he had to leave.

"Go get them," she smiled, reached up and kissed him passionately, "the return to me safe and sound." He grinned wolfishly as he thread his hand into her hair.

"You be sure to rest and heal. Next time we meet, I want to have you," his voice was low but Heisuke still heard and blushed bright red. He cleared his throat in embarrassment and sent the two lovers into fits of giggles.

"I will return as soon as I can," he kissed her one more time before following the younger man out of the room. Chizuru waited until they had completely left the building before she retired to her chambers; after making sure that no one was around she pulled out the letter that Okita had given her and read it. Her heart sank as she realised that the next time she saw Okita would be the last time he would see and make love to her; after that, she was to go back to living as his comrade. She knew she would have to make up a reason as to why 'Chizuru' had to leave Shinabara and so wouldn't be able to see her patron. An idea struck her and she hurried to put it into action.

...

It had been a month of hard fighting but Okita put all the battles behind him as he walked into the building which housed his love, his western clothing attracting a lot of attention.

"Master Okita," the receptionist looked at him in surprise before his eyes grew sad, "you're just in time. Please go to her," he motioned to the geisha's private quarters. As he ran past, he heard the man shout that Chizuru's room was the last door on the left. He slammed the door open, making her jump and turn to stare up at him in fear. Her tear stained face broke his heart as more tears gathered in her eyes when she saw that he had returned.

"Okita," she spoke quietly as if not quite believing that he was actually there. Despite her thinking that he was some kind of illusion, she stood and threw herself into his arms. As soon as his arms wrapped around her and she breathed in his scent, she knew that she was once again in the embrace of the man she loved.

"I thought that I may never see you again," she sobbed into his chest and he chuckled.

"Did you doubt my ability so much?" he looked at her with an eyebrow raised. She shook her head, reached into her kimono and pulled out a letter, she passed it to him. With a frown, he shut the door and took a seat, Chizuru nestled in his lap.

"It's an order from my family," she explained, "they say that they are going to send a carriage to pick me up, whether willing or by force," her voice began to break, "they say they have arranged a marriage and that, as a mere woman, I have no right to refuse. The fact that I have already lain with a man does not seem to worry them." Okita snarled his displeasure, his arms tightening around her waist, the letter crushed in his hand.

"I won't let them take you! When does the carriage arrive?" His eyes burned in fury as he plotted how he would keep the woman he loved away from those who would separate them.

"Tomorrow," she replied in a small voice, he paled and met her eyes, seeing the look of hopelessness she had on her face, "Okita, my family won't stop hunting me, even if I was protected by the whole of Japan, they would still find a way to take me back." He began to argue with her but she pressed a finger to his lips before caressing his cheek.

"At least give me one more night. Please let me have that much," he couldn't help but nod in answer to her request. Her eyes burning with such passion he had never seen before.

"You've been gone a month," she crawled up and whispered in his ear, "that's plenty of time to think of something new to try." He gulped at the predatory gleam in her eye and couldn't help getting hard at the sight of her beginning to disrobe. He moved to help her but she stopped him with a shake of her head.

"Sit there and watch," it was almost a command and he did as he was told. One by one, she shed each layer of clothing until she stood in front of him completely bare. Locking eye contact with him, she raised a hand and began to tease one of her breasts, the other hand held to her mouth as she erotically licked her fingers. Once wet, she brought her hand down and began to rub her folds, soft mewls leaving her mouth. She halted for a moment to sit as her legs began to shake and she laid in a position so that he could see everything that she was doing. With a gasp, she pushed a finger inside herself and started pumping it in and out. Soon she added a second and began scissoring her fingers, stretching herself, ready to accept Okita's rather large manhood. Once she believed that she was ready, she crawled up to Okita and stripped the highly aroused man. She wrapped her hand around his dick and pumped, earning a growl from him. Once again making eye contact, she quickly deep throated him. Okita threw his head back with a moan and threaded a hand into her hair, guiding her actions.

"Shiro...nosuke," he panted as he fired his seed into her mouth and watched as she swallowed it all. She pulled out of his grasp, only to return her hand to her slick folds, her moans of pleasure, making him hard again as she had planned. She straddled his hips so that his manhood was pressed against her clit and slowly pushed downwards. She continued until he was completely sheathed inside of him and then paused to revel in the feeling of being completely filled by him. His head was back as he panted, shivers of ecstasy ran up and down his spine.

"Move," he growled and she gave him a predatory grin which almost made him cum again then and there. She ground their hips together before putting her hands on his stomach and pushed herself up on his length, only to pull back down, pumping him into her. They both cried out in pleasure as he put his hands on her hips and thrust upwards. Soon the coil of tension in her was so overwhelming that she couldn't make her limbs act like she wanted because they were shaking too much. Feeling the strength leave her body, Okita lifted her and laid her down on her back, her legs still firmly wrapped around his waist. With his new position, he was able to push deeper into her, hitting her pleasure spot over and over again. Her cried of ecstasy bouncing off the walls. Somehow, her desperation for his touch made their lovemaking much more passionate than ever before, bringing both of them to an orgasm multiple times. With a rough thrust Chizuru came, her muscles milking Okita of all the seed he had left. They both collapsed, side by side, in exhaustion. Gently, as if she were the most precious being on earth, he wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to her forehead. With a sigh she curled around him, melding her body to his as they both fell asleep, seemingly forgetting that they were going to be separated the next day.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Chizuru opened her eyes and carefully pulled herself out of Okita's arms without waking him. She silently got changed into her male clothing and placed a kimono over it to hide them. She slid the door open, walked out and snapped it closed, waking the man. She then ran delicately to the front door where the driver was waiting.

Okita looked around him in panic before realising that it was Chizuru who had exited the room. He paused long enough to put some trousers on before running after her at full pelt. He managed to catch up just as Chizuru was climbing into the carriage.

"Shiro!" he tried to grab her, only to feel a presence behind him. He wasn't quick enough to dodge the blow to the back of his head; the last thing he saw before falling unconscious was the look of shock and worry on her tear stained face.

Chizuru waited for a few minutes to make sure that Okita was actually unconscious before stepping down from the carriage and threw a pouch of coins up to the driver who nodded and drove off, his part in the charade fulfilled. She looked up at Kazuma who was stood behind Okita's body, looking bored.

"Thank you, Kazuma," she bowed and he laughed dryly.

"Any chance to get one up on the Meibu wolves is appreciated," he took the kimono and clogs she held out to him and watched as she tied her hair into a high ponytail. She closed her eyes for a moment and pulled her chi away from the building and sealed it back inside her body. She pulled herself up to her proper height, her back straight with her head held high for the first time since she began her mission as a geisha. Kazuma smirked at her transformation and went to reach down to pick up Okita when a growl stopped him; he looked up to see her brown eyes piercing into his, telling him to back away. She reached down and pulled Okita's arm over her shoulder and dragged him away from Shinabara towards the Shinsengumi headquarters.

By the time Chizuru reached the front gates, she was exhauster; Okita, being pure muscle, was a lot heavier than she had expected. Her relief was obvious when Hijikata, Shinpachi and Heisuke ran out to meet them. The latter two took their friend from her; as soon as his weight disappeared, her legs gave out and she sat there panting.

"What happened?" Hijikata turned his frown to her after watching Okita being carried out of sight.

"Chizuru's gone," Hijikata started, his eyes widened in shock, "Okita tried to stop her but was hit from behind. I arrived in time to stop the assailant from doing anymore damage to him."

"So, she's gone home," he whispered before narrowing his eyes at Chizuru, "Why didn't you come back when ordered?!"

"Because, the morning after I got my letter from you, Chizuru got her letter from her family. I couldn't just leave her to wait alone for Okita to return to her, especially when we couldn't be sure that he would come back." Hijikata looked taken back by the force of her answer and watched as he strode away, following after the green-eyed man. As she reached the doorway she stumbled in her exhaustion and felt an arm slip under her, halting her fall. She regained her balance and straightened, only to find that it was Saito who had caught her.

"You have lost weight," he stated and she snorted.

"Thanks for catching me. AS for the loss of weight, I haven't exactly been eating well. I've had to steal food from the kitchens and I wasn't able to do that often," she lied. In reality she hadn't lost weight at all. Saito nodded in understanding and moved away, allowing her to enter Okita's room. As soon as she walked in, she was bombarded with questions by the two Captains who had finished putting the brown head in bed.

"I've already told Hijikata-san what happened, I'm exhausted so could you go and direct your questions to him. I'll watch over Okita for a while," the two men stared at her for a moment before they marched out of the door, leaving the two of them alone.

Chizuru was surprised at the small size of the room, the futon had been placed a foot away from the back wall in order to free up space. She walked over and settled herself in that foot of space and sat next to him, watching him. Soon her eyelids began to droop and her head lolled. Slowly she slipped sideways down the wall and her head landed on the futon, just under his chin.

...

"Its morning already, do you think we should check up on Okita?" Heisuke spoke out during breakfast and Hijikata nodded, indicating that he would come with them. There had been no sight or sound of either Okita or Chizuru since the night before when she suddenly turned up carrying the Squad 10 Captain.

They slid the door open and walked in, only to freeze when they say the stated of the room's occupants. Chizuru had slid onto the futon in her sleep and had curled onto Okita. Her head on his chest, an arm wrapped around his waist and a leg was draped over his. His arm was wrapped around her waist and his face was buried in her hair.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Shinpachi couldn't keep quiet and jolted the two awake. Chizuru huffed sleepily and snuggled into him, his hand moving up her waist and halting on her head woke her completely. With a yawn, she sat up and stretched, deciding not to make a big deal of being seen sleeping with Okita.

"What's the big deal Shinpachi, I was sleeping!?" Chizuru complained and felt Okita freeze next to her. She looked down to see the shock on his face as he realised who he had been holding. Her eyes softened when she watched his sorrow of losing Chizuru cloud his features. Chizuru reached into her shirt and pulled out a letter.

"Okita, here, take this," she placed the letter on his lap and he sat there, staring at it, "Chizuru wanted to leave you some words so I wrote down what she dictated. These are the feelings of her heart," she stood and straightened her clothes, "I'll be back later to bring you some food." She shooed the others out of the room, much to their disgust.

"Give him some time alone," she said when she had shut the door; Hijikata took one look at her serious expression and nodded.

"But Vice Commander!" Shinpachi shouted, he flinched when Chizuru turned an icy glare on him.

"I know you don't like me, but get over it. I have been by his side and by Chizuru's side for these last couple of months, don't you dare think that I know nothing about them."

"Shiro's gone, Shinpachi," Okita spoke from inside the room, his voice choked in sorrow. Chizuru flinched at his voice and her eyes grew sad.

"If you still want to yell then let's do it somewhere else," she whispered as she walked away. The other three noticed the change in her mood and followed her down to the kitchen. She quickly made up some food and left the rice cooking when she turned to the men who looked like they were forcing themselves not to question her.

"What do you want to know?"

"How close to Chizuru were you?" Heisuke spoke out accusingly, having spotted her flinch when her name was spoken.

"Very, though not as close as Okita," she barked a bitter laugh, "Chizuru and I were very alike. We are both hated by our families and have run away to find our freedom. I would say our relationship would be akin to siblings," she saw Shinpachi sneer her way and sighed.

"I want you to write a full report on your time at Shinabara, do not leave any details!" Hijikata ordered before striding away. The other two cleared off quite quickly, leaving her alone. She slumped against the counter, her heart heavy at being the cause of Okita's pain. She didn't notice Chizuru walk in and freeze at Chizuru's appearance.

"What's wrong?" Chizuru started and looked down into Chizuru's wide, innocent, brown eyes.

"I've gotten into this role too deeply, soon everyone will find out that I am not a man," she whispered.

"What do you mean?" Confusion clouded Chizuru's eyes and Chizuru turned to look at her.

"Come with me," she handed the pot of tea and the cups to Chizuru as she pulled the trays of food into her own. They made their way swiftly back to the room; upon opening the door they were met by a frozen Okita."Chizuru, is it true? Is Shiro really p ... p..." he couldn't say it out loud.

"Yes she is. You are going to be a father, congratulations," she smiled gently as his face flew through many expressions; shock, astonishment, fear. It finally halted on a grin of joy that made him glow. Chizuru stared at Chizuru with her mouth wide open.

"Now let's have a drink to celebrate," the blunette took the tea from the stunned girl's hands and poured out three teas.

"Tea? No, break out the sake!" he cried out and Chizuru chuckled.

"Chizuru and I don't drink, so you'll have to wait until you're with Heisuke and Shinpachi to toast with alcohol," her eyes were gentle as she calmed him down enough to drink the tea with them before he bolted to find his drinking partners. Once he was out of the room, Chizuru turned to Chizuru.

"You're pregnant?!" the blunette nodded with a worried frown.

"As a devil, my pregnancy will be a lot shorter than normal," at Chizuru's unspoken question, Chizuru continued," 4 months," Chizuru gasped and went pale.

"How far along are you?"

"A month, quarter of the way through; I guess we need to find excuses as to why I'm getting fat," she winked with a laugh.

"Probably getting a check up with Matsumoto-sensei could mean that he finds something and he wants to keep you under observation," Chizuru quickly laid out a plan. Chizuru bit her lip and nodded, she wished that she didn't have to keep hiding who she was.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Chizuru was sat reclining on the walkway outside the dojo, watching her comrades' spar with each other. Shironosuke was in the yard doing the laundry with a peaceful smile on her face. They both jolted at the sound of raised voices outside the compound. As soon as the two arguing men walked into the compound, she was able to feel their chi and, recognising them, she tensed, her chi flaring slightly. Okita caught the change in her mood and halted his match with Heisuke, letting Shinpachi take his place and approached her.

"Chizuru, what's wrong?"

"We have some rather rude guests," her eyes narrowed at the far door as stomping footsteps neared; the door slammed open.

"Chizuru, where the hell are you hiding?!" A brown haired, brown eyed man roared in fury. Chizuru took in everyone's shocked faces and couldn't help a short bark of laughter as she pulled herself to her feet and couldn't help the short bark of laughter as she pulled herself to her feel and walked into his view.

"You have a lot of nerve. Firstly, you cause a ruckus and now you yell that name with hate in your voice... I don't think I've ever witnessed someone so stupid," she narrowed her eyes at the two men who had walked into the dojo. The brown haired man snarled at her, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder, he tsked and let his older companion walk forward.

"If I am not mistaken, you are of the Ibuki bloodline. If so, then I would ask your help in finding my daughter, Chizuru, the princess of the Ibuki clan," his voice was strong and rang around the room.

" Chizuru never came here," she replied before turning her back on him.

"How dare you turn your back! Don't you know who this man is?!" The brown haired man yelled, "You are merely a branch family member. Know your place!" Her eyes went bright red and her canines extended, making Okita move to her side.

"Chizuru, is everything alright?" Shironosuke stepped into the dojo and Chizuru felt lust enter the brown haired man's chi. In an instant, Chizuru was in front of her, hiding her from view; her snarl directed at the man in front of her.

"As the first born heir of your clan, I order you to let me have that woman!" the younger man commanded, everyone in the room tensed. Goose bumps rose on everyone's arms when a cruel laugh bubbled up from within Chizuru, her chuckles bouncing of the walls. With her chi, she pulled Hijikata to the dojo and he stood beside Shironosuke, the tension rolling off him told her that he had already worked out the situation.

"You would dare to order me!" a sneer on Chizuru's face as she stepped towards the man, "a powerless half breed?!" He sucked in a furious breath and ran at her with his sword drawn. She countered with a wooden training sword, the strength behind the impact made the man drop his sword. He lunged at her whilst pulling out a hidden dagger and slashed at her chest. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she dodged, the blade narrowly missing her skin. She heard Shironosuke gasp and turned, thinking that she was in trouble. Only to freeze when she saw that Shironosuke had her hands covering her mouth, her eyes wide in shock. She could hear the men around her murmuring to each other with confusion clear in their voices. Before she could figure out why they were acting like that, she felt the man lunge into another attack. She caught the hand in which he held the dagger and flipped the man over her shoulder. She felt movement on her chest and looked down, her face paled. The man had managed to cut through the bandages that hid her breasts.

"Damn it, Kirinosuke," she snarled as she pulled her top closed, hiding her full cleavage, "Can't I do anything without you ruining it?!"

"You're a woman?!" Shinpachi cried, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"What gave it away?" she hissed sarcastically, not in the mood to deal with his hissy fit.

"Why the hell did you come here?" she sent a death glare to the older man who walked into the light. His hair and eyes were the same colour as hers and he was half a foot shorter.

"Can't I come and see how my own child is doing? Though I would never have guessed that you would pretend to be a man," he chuckled as he continued to approach her.

"Why are you here?" she spoke slowly and clearly, her voice full of anger; her father sighed and stopped walking.

"As one of the few devil-hime in this world, your value is considerable," he started as he skirted around the subject.

"My value... as a peace offering. Don't tell me, you want me to become Kazuma's bride to consolidate your alliance," she deadpanned.

"That's his plan, despite my assurances that the alliance was not as weak as he thinks," Kazuma suddenly appeared next to her, he turned to see Hijikata draw his sword, "relax, I'm not here for Shironosuke. Talking to Chizuru made me see that you are the perfect match for the pure blooded devil princess. Your offspring will be strong." Shironosuke blushed bright red and Hijikata looked shocked.

"Kazuma, we've spoken about this! You will marry my daughter!"

"Can't and won't," he said calmly, the older man looked livid, "anyway it would be against my honour as a noble if I take her as my wife."

"Ah, so you know she worked as a whore in Shinabara then?" Kirinosuke sneered and Chizuru span around to look at him in shock.

"I knew she was working there and I also know that she only slept with one man. I'm pretty sure Chizuru has chosen that man as her mate. Plus, smell her scent," he smiled gently as he watched her father's eyes widen comically.

"Ryunosuke, now that I have a mate, I would ask you to leave," Chizuru levelled her gaze at her father who snarled.

"Who is it? Who did you chose?"

"The descendant of the forgotten Princess," she said cryptically and Ryunosuke analysed everyone in the room until he saw Okita's shocked expression and noticed his green eyes.

"Okita Souji, huh?"

"This is none of your business. After I ran here after your son attacked me, I had so much freedom. I wasn't hated by you or your whores and their brats. You were only able to lie with my mother because she had pity on you," a tail slipped out from under her long top and her canines elongated more, her ears went pointed, "The Ibuki clan is weak, look at its heir. A snivelling half breed who couldn't even sense a brick wall even if he walked into it; and its leader, who begged a warrior devil to bear him a child of noble birth."

"How dare you insinuate that I am lacking in nobility!" he roared, his brown eyes blazing.

"Oh, you have the sense of a noble, do you?" she sneered and pointed to Shironosuke, "What family is Shironosuke from?"

"Am I meant to know the name of every human family? Don't be ridiculous!" Kazuma snorted and roared in laughter, a break in his usual dignified manner. Chizuru allowed herself to chuckle along with him for a few moments.

"Kazuma, are you sure you want to ally your clan with such people?" she giggled, he smirked.

"With Ryunosuke as head of the Ibuki clan, the Kazuma clan had decided to swallow the Ibuki's into their ranks, practically destroying the so called warrior clan. As a noble, it is my duty to make sure my own and other bloodlines remain in existence. However, the Ibuki blood has become too diluted with human blood, hence the powerlessness of their heir," he looked down in contempt at the brown haired man who sat sulking like a child, "In other words, we never were going to uphold a normal alliance anyway."

"How dare y..."Ryunosuke went silent when Kazuma transformed into his devil state.

"Saying that Shironosuke-hime was a human was the last straw. I knew you were as sensitive as a rock but to not even know who Shironosuke was is an embarrassment to your clan."

"Wait, did you say Shironosuke!?" his eyes widened.

"Therefore, as I no longer deem you fit, I order you to step down as head of your clan. I am disappointed; when you were young, you showed such promise. You were gentle, kind and helpful, but power has twisted you because you don't have the devil instinct. I will find someone else to take your place." He turned away from the fuming, disowned male and addressed the Shinsengumi, who were all looking confused, "Forgive us for interrupting you, if these fools had any brains they would have asked to speak with Chizuru privately," he bowed.

"Who can take my place?!" Ryunosuke continued his futile resistance.

"Hmm, a full blooded devil who is strong in both mind and body. They need to be old enough to command respect but young enough to help increase the strength of the bloodline. Plus they'll need to be an Ibuki or one of the branch families," Kazuma mused.7"A branch family member becoming the head, its unthinkable!"

"So is an Ibuki trying to attack a Shironosuke despite the age old oath to protect that clan ... oh wait, I'm sure we saw that today," Chizuru said in an offhand manner and her two male relations blushed.

"Plus, if you had your way, you would put a half breed with only human senses on the Ibuki throne. I think that's worse than the clan disappearing altogether," Kazuma grunted, everyone in the room bristled at his comment.

"Careful Kazuma, you forget that my mate is almost human," she scolded, a glint of humour in her eyes, he chuckled.

"I'm sure you've noticed but this Shinsengumi is a marvel," his eyes softened, "to have brought together so many descendents of ancient devil bloodlines; you must be very comfortable here with such strong chi's to surround you," he grinned at Chizuru who nodded. She sighed and turned to her father.

"We might as well do this the proper way. Ryunosuke, clan chief of the Ibuki warriors, I challenge you to a duel for your title and position," she unsheathed her sword and stood in the centre of the dojo. Ryunosuke smirked arrogantly as he met her on the floor, his katana in his hand.

"Okita, you need to watch this," Kazuma whispered to the brown haired man who was sat frozen after all the revelations he had heard.

"Watch this for Chizuru and your son," he smiled when Okita's head jolted upwards and met his eyes, "yes, you are going to have a son, I can feel his chi."

"Kazuma," Chizuru warned the blond devil who smirked.

"Okita, I can awaken your senses so that you can feel your son, however once awakened they won't be able to decrease to your usual level. Are you willing to allow that?" Kazuma explained. Okita nodded, not even stopping to think, he wanted to be sure that the woman in front of him was his woman, his love, his Chizuru. Kazuma sliced the tip of his finger and held it out to the brown head.

"Drink," he ordered, Okita looked away in disgust, "fine, then I might take your mate for myself." Okita's green eyes flashed as he grabbed the man's finger and licked the blood off it with a snarl. Almost instantly his body pulsed and he curled into a ball with a whimper of agony.

"Okita," Chizuru purred, cutting through the pain, pulling him back to reality. His senses picked up everything in their heightened state. He opened his eyes and flared his chi; Chizuru flared hers so it swirled around him, letting him feel the chi of his son. In a flash, je was stood behind her, his hand slipped round her waist and stopped on her slightly swollen belly. He nuzzled her neck to convey his delight and she smiled gently. In her joy of Okita accepting not only her but their child, she had taken her eyes off the threat which her father posed. Whilst she was distracted he lunged at her, his sword groaning as it flew through the air. In an instant, he was on his back staring at the ceiling in shock.

"You would attack my woman whilst she isn't looking, you have lost all of your honour, Ryunosuke," Okita growled, his voice guttural. Ryunosuke stared at him with goose bumps rising on his arms, his instincts telling him to flee.  
"As a descendent of the main house of Ibuki and as my wife is the true heir of their bloodline, I will become the head of the clan. Are you willing to follow me?" Okita looked from Ryunosuke to Kirinosuke, his eyes narrowing at the stubborn expressions on their faces.

"You will show respect to your Lord and Lady!" Kazuma snarled when he saw their insolence. Chizuru chuckled when they shook their head in defiance, a mischievous glint in her eyes. She slowly increased the level of her chi, the weight of it bringing the two men to their knees with their heads bowed, they were gasping as they struggled to breathe.

"Chizuru, please stop," Shironosuke whispered quietly, the blunette gasped and turned to her, her chi returning to its normal level.

"I know they were cruel to you and that they deserve all the punishment you can give them, but...please don't sink to their level," Shironosuke spoke softly, her eyes pleading with Chizuru. The brown eyed woman smiled and bowed her head in response before turning back to the two cowering men in front of her.

"Be thankful to Shironosuke-hime for stopping me, she is far more gentle than I am. To think how easy it would have been for me to kill you; after all, you two were struggling to breathe under the pressure of less than half of my chi," her eyes narrowed at the two men who both paled even more when they realised the extent of her strength.

"Return home and remove yourselves from the main house," they opened their mouths to argue when she raised a hand to silence them, "there is a small cottage on the main household's estate. You will live there. Don't worry; it has been well cared for. I would know, as that was where you forced me to live when it was a ruined building." She dismissed them with a wave of her hand and Kazuma walked up, saluted her comically with a grin and dragged the ex-clan chief and his son out of the room. As soon as they disappeared out of the room, it seemed like the entire dojo let out a sigh of relief. Okita pulled Chizuru into his chest and placed both hands on her stomach.

"Son," he spoke quietly, awe in his voice as he felt his unborn child's chi react to his own.

...

An hour later, all the captains, Hijikata, Kondou, Shironosuke and Chizuru were all sat in a private room. Okita was leant against the wall with his arms wrapped around Chizuru who was relaxed against his chest.

"You lied to us, Chizuru," Hijikata stated in his cold, harsh voice.

"Would you have let me stay if I had told you the truth?" she raised an eyebrow at him, they all knew that he would have refused to allow her to join the Shinsengumi. He sighed and looked over at an anxious looking Shironosuke, he sighed again, this time in defeat.

"Fine, though I have some rules for you to follow," she nodded, "Firstly, you will continue to wear male clothing; secondly, you will move into Okita's quarters, if you keep any of us awake at night, I will separate you, do you understand?" She sniggered and nodded, she could feel Okita chuckling behind her, "Lastly, I want you to have a check up with Matsumoto-sensei, to make sure your child is growing properly." His eyes glittered when he said this last sentence and Shironosuke jumped to her feet, no longer able to contain herself and ran over to Chizuru. She bit her lip and looked like desperately wanted to ask the blunette something. Chizuru followed the girl's gaze down to her belly and laughed.

"Do you want to touch, although, there's not much to feel at the moment," Chizuru smiled gently, she felt Okita tense behind her and she lightly slapped his hand, "Don't be so overprotective." Chizuru guided Shironosuke's hand onto her belly and watched the girl's expression change from concentration to absolute joy. Everyone was shocked when they felt Shironosuke's chi flutter around the room, the warmth of it making them all smile.

"I can feel him," she whispered, a laugh in her voice. Heisuke crawled up with an embarrassed expression on his face and Chizuru chuckled.

"Go ahead," she gave his an encouraging nod and he placed his hand next to Shironosuke's. They gasped when the baby's chi fluctuated and flooded into the room, pressing up against everyone's chi, as if memorising them.

"These are your Uncles and Auntie, little one," Chizuru spoke gently, sliding a hand on her belly. Everyone looked at her in surprise at her statement and Okita nodded to them in agreement with his mate.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

It had been a month since Chizuru's identity he had been revealed to everyone and she was sat once more outside the dojo on a pillow with her hand on her very swollen belly.

"Do you think you should be here?" Yamazaki sat down next to her with a pot of tea.

"The child is feeding off my chi, it's nice to have a rest whilst he takes the others' chi. I may have formidable chi, but it is not limitless," she smiled tiredly at him.

"That would explain why the Captains are projecting their chi," Yamazaki laughed and they both relaxed watching everyone spar.

Suddenly, Chizuru squeaked. In an instant Okita was by her side; before he could do or say anything she grabbed his hand placed it on his belly. The sudden movement was awarded with a strong kick by their son who had just become very active. Okita's eyes widened in shock at having his hand kicked and looked up at Chizuru who had an awed smile on her face.

"What's the matter!?" The men in the dojo had noticed Okita's disappearance and had rushed over as fast as they could.

"My son had begun training," Okita spoke with a choked voice as emotion threatened to overtake him. Chizuru looked at him for a moment then started laughing at his comment. She felt a hesitant hand on her bump and looked up to see Hijikata kneeling beside Okita. It seemed as though he was concentrating and memorising each stage of her pregnancy, he had been showing up to practise a lot more often than he used to. The baby kicked his hand and he let out an uncharacteristically loud bark of laughter, a half smile on his lips. As everyone took turns to feel her son kick, Chizuru felt unfamiliar chi enter into the compound in a rush. She cocked her head to listen to the hushed words of the man and realised that he was a messenger, calling the Shinsengumi to arms.

Suddenly she felt another presence behind her and Okita and Hijikata tensed, staring at a spot over her shoulder. Chizuru sent out a flash of her chi at the man behind her and felt him slip to his knees with his head bowed.

"Ibuki-hime, I've been sent to guard you," he spoke, his voice strong despite the amount of offensive chi being sent his way by the protective captains.

"Why does he need a guard?" Okita laughed mockingly.

"Because war has just been declared," Chizuru spoke in an emotionless voice and everyone turned and stared at her. She turned her piercing gaze on the young man who had been sent to her, he looked barely twenty but she could see from the look in his eyes that he was older. She pushed part of her chi up against him to test his strength and he held firm in his knelt position.

"Saito-san, would you test his mettle?" She didn't turn to see the quiet man's nod; she didn't have to because she felt Saito unleash his chi, wrapping it around himself like a scarf. The guard rose to his feet and followed the blue haired man into the dojo and took the offered wooden training sword. With a deep breath, he faced his opponent and waited for Saito to make the first move. Their stances mirrored each other and it was obvious that this duel would be over very quickly. The instant Saito took a step forward; the guard disappeared with a crack of chi so powerful it left nearly everyone breathless. Saito managed to follow the man's movements and they attacked each other at the same time. The combatants halted with their backs to each other, panting hard. The man who had been sent to guard Chizuru fell to his kneels with a grimace of pain and defeat.

"I'm surprised you didn't ask me to duel him," Okita sounded a bit put out as his eyes inspected the guard. Chizuru snuggled deeper into his arms with a chuckle.

"You will be called off to war soon and I won't be able to accompany you, being so close to my due date," he frowned sadly and looked down at her when she cupped his cheek, "I want to be held by you as much as possible for these last few days." His arms tightened around and he buried his face in her hair. The guard slowly rose to his feet, humiliation clear on his face.

"I'll let you be my body guard," Chizuru spoke to him and he stared at her in disbelief.

"But I... I lost against a human."

"Saito-san is much stronger than most devils I know, let alone humans," Chizuru laughed as Okita helped her to stand. She waddled over and smiled at Saito who nodded at her.

"Looks like Saito-san approves of your strength and my son approves of your chi, so I think you'll be stuck guarding me for a while," Okita walked up behind and wrapped his arms around his mate, his expression warning the man not to get to close to his woman.

"What's your name?" Chizuru asked the man and he gulped and looked from Okita, back to her.

"Kai Ibuki, Ma'am," she looked at him in surprise and hmm'ed.

"Being that I've never met you, I'm guessing you are a member of one of the branch families?" Kai bristled and took a deep breath to calm himself.

"You need not get so angry; I am not against the so called branch family in any way. In fact, one of my first degrees's as joint clan head will be to create one family. The so called branch families will become part of the main house and the elders who have been keeping our bloodline weak will be overthrown. Those who have talent and the right aptitude will rise above those who have become idle and useless" her eyes blazed fiercely, "I will not discriminate!" Instantly, Kai was on his knees in front of her, head bowed and a hand over his heart. Her passion and determination making him positive that he wanted to serve the woman in front of him for the rest of his life.

"Ibuki-Hime, I swear that I will serve and protect you for as long as I live!" she reached down and lifted his chin so his eyes met hers.

"Kai, I don't want a servant," a sad frown slid onto his face, "I want a friend." She grinned as shock registered in his expression and the man nervously looked up at Okita to wee what his reaction was. Kai relaxed when he saw the brown head was laughing gently at his expression and turned back to Chizuru.

"It would be an honour to be called your friend, Ibuki-hime," his voice was filled with awe.

"Okay, first things first, my name is Chizuru," she chuckled, obviously uncomfortable with her formal title.

"I couldn't possibly..." a stern look from his words and he stuttered, "K...K...Chizuru-sama." She groaned at the honorific and Okita roared in laughter, watching his frustrated mate try and correct the man who was still kneeling in front of her. They were interrupted when Kondou walked into the dojo and cleared his throat, attracting everyone's attention.

"Men, I have just been sent word. War against the Choushu has just been declared. We will be moving out at dawn tomorrow," he turned his sad eyes on the heavily pregnant woman and his mate, "I suggest you all spend the night saying goodbye to your loved ones. This is going to be a long campaign and you may never see them again." With a last glance around the room, Kondou left, closing the door being him. Chizuru could feel the tension rolling off of Okita and put a hand on his chest, getting his attention.

"Don't worry, you will see me again," she whispered and he growled gently. He pulled her slowly out of the room, being careful not to jerk her, his eyes telling her what her wanted."Kai, stay here," she poke quickly to the man who had started to follow them.

"But..."

"Believe me, you'll want to stay here," Heisuke intervened demanding the man's attention by challenging him to a duel.

...

Okita slowly undressed Chizuru, when they had gotten back to their room, worshiping her body with her lips, paying special attention to her stomach. He made love gently to her, making sure to give her all the pleasure she could handle and more. She could tell that he didn't think that he would survive this fight. Once he had pulled out of her and laid next to her, she turned in his embrace so that she was facing him.

"Once the baby is born, I'll come and find you," she whispered, and then frowned when he shook his head.

"The battle field is too dangerous of a place to bring a new born child," he couldn't meet her eyes.

"Don't worry," she kissed him gently on the lips and snuggled into his chest, her breathing slowed as she surrendered to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

"I'm going to trust you with Chizuru, Kai. Do not let her out of your sight and under no circumstances is she to set foot on the battlefield," Okita charged Kai, who saluted him with a serious expression on his face.

"Okita, I don't need a baby sitter," Chizuru sighed, a hand on her swollen stomach as she waddled over to him across the courtyard.

"Not just yet anyways," Shironosuke joined in as she walked beside her pregnant friend. Out of the corner of her eye, Chizuru saw Hijikata's frown deepen when he saw Shironosuke, who was ready to leave with the troops. She knew that he was going to ask the smaller girl to stay behind but Chizuru could sense that he would need her. With a frown, Chizuru placed a hand on her belly, hoping to calm the excited child within but he kicked out all the more at the gentle pressure.

"Are you okay?" Shironosuke heard her sigh and looked at her anxiously.

"It seems like he wants to say goodbye to everyone," Chizuru chuckled. She was soon surrounded by all the captains and commanders; they laid a hand on her swollen stomach one by one.

Heisuke: "I'll see ya later, little nephew."

Shinpachi: "I bet you'll get all the girls just like your father."

Saito: "I'll teach you how to use a sword with your left hand."

Sano: "Goodbye, little one."

Hijikata: "Maybe one day I'll father a child you can call brother." Shironosuke blushed beetroot when she met his eyes and turned back to Chizuru.

Shironosuke: "I can't wait to hold you, so stay safe, Okay?"

Kondou: "You are the only child of the Shinsengumi, live with pride and honour, little Samurai."

Sannan-san just stood to one side and nodded to Chizuru who returned his gesture. After each person spoke, the baby kicked that person's hand, acknowledging their words.

Feeling Okita shift, Chizuru turned to him and he knelt in front of him. His hands came up and were placed either side of her bump, he pressed his lips gently to it. His expression was soft when he pulled away.

"Next time we meet, we'll see each other face to face, my son," he was greeted to 2 swift kicks from his son and he chuckled. He stood and captured the lips of his woman, not caring that everyone else watching.

"I will see you again," he growled his promise and placed a last kiss on her forehead before walking away to his squad and the entire Shinsengumi began to move out.

"Hijikata-san," Chizuru caught the man's attention before he could say anything to Shironosuke, "You'll need Shironosuke with you."

"But..." he stopped when she shook her head.

"Trust this woman's instincts," she smiled and hugged Shironosuke goodbye, "you keep yourself safe, okay?" Shironosuke sniffed back tears and nodded.

"What will you do now?" Hijikata put a comforting hand on Shironosuke's shoulder as she asked the blunette the question that everyone had wanted to ask her.

"I'll return home," they looked at her in shock, "there are many things that need to be corrected before Okita arrives. Plus, as much as I trust Matsumoto-sensei, I doubt he has ever had experience of a devil birth. I don't want to risk any harm to come to my son," she smiled at them before walking with them out of the gate, Kai following close behind. Outside the gate stood a carriage with the crest of a fierce dragon curled around a Sakura blossom. The door opened and Kazuma climbed out with a lazy smirk.

"Kaze-chan," he greeted her informally.

"Kazu-kun," she smirked back at him, he froze momentarily at his old childhood nickname before shrugging.

"Your carriage awaits, milady," he held out a hand for her to take to help her into the carriage. Kai tensed and began to walk in front of her defensively but was stopped with a small touch to the arm by Chizuru.

"Kai, this is lord Kazuma, clan chief of the Kazuma's and our ally," she introduced the blond man to her brunette body guard who gasped and stuttered a bowed apology. Kazuma waved away his apology with a laugh.

"You reacted correctly as her bodyguard, you are forgiven," he spoke with a smile and Kai blushed.

"If you are quite finished, we should be going," Chizuru grinned. With one last look behind her, Chizuru watched as her friends and family walked away into the distance.

"Kazuma, send someone to protect Okita," the blond devil put a hand over his heart and bowed. She gave him a sad smile and climbed into the carriage.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

"Reporting in," Kazuma walked towards the table Chizuru was sat at and she motioned him to speak.

"The Shinsengumi has split into small groups and some have taken the fury, making themselves into false devils," he frowned. Chizuru looked down at the brown haired baby in her arms and sighed.

"It is time. I will go out and bring our lost brethren home," she stood and wrapped a piece of cloth around her chest to hold her son in place whilst leaving her hands free.

"My lady!?" Rai ran up to her to plead for her to stay, "surely my brother Kai can go in your stead."

"He could, but I am going to be reunited with my family," her eyes flashed telling him that she would not heed his arguments, "Kai, with me." Her hair fluttered behind her as she marched out of the council room. After 6 months of fighting against the main house of her family she had finally secured peace after making the clan far stronger than it have been under her father's rule.

The instant they were through the portal, Kazuma led her to a government jail.

"Kondou-san was arrested, he will be beheaded tomorrow," he informed her. Chizuru walked into the building with a heavy heart and demanded to see Kondou. In an instant, she was surrounded by soldiers. Kai leapt into action, unsheathing his sword in defence of his clan chief and her child.

"Kai put down your weapon, we are here peacefully...for now," she whispered the last part of her sentence so that only the two devils could hear what she said. With a grunt, the Ibuki bodyguard sheathed his sword but left his hand on it as a warning to the humans that he wouldn't hesitate to use his steel blade.

"What a warm greeting," Kazuma said sarcastically as he stopped beside her.

"Lord Kazuma, we didn't see you there," they all put down their weapons, "Quick, someone get the general." Soon, a tall, tawny haired man was stood in front of them and he bowed.

"We were not expecting you lord Kazuma. What can I do for you?"

"I am here to see Kondou-san, commander of the Shinsengumi," Chizuru spoke in a commanding voice and the humans around her quaked. Kazuma sniggered at the men and shrugged his shoulders as he sighed."You better do as she says," he told the general, "she will see the man one way or another."

"I don't understand," the general took a step back when she turned her piercing gaze on him.

"Simply put, either you take to Kondou-san or I'll find him myself and resistance will be futile," her face was serious, promising pain to any who wouldn't let her get her own way.

"This way," the general realised his defeat and made up his mind that the way to keep his men alive would be to show her the way himself. They made their way down through the building, down into the dungeon. The scent of death and despair was thick in the air, the child strapped to Chizuru tensed and she gently gave his back a comforting pat.

"His cell is at the end."

She picked up her pace and strode past cells of hopeless criminals until she reached the man she was looking for. Kondou was sat on the floor with his eyes closed, obviously in a meditative state.

"No matter where you are, you always look like the proud commander I know," she grinned at the man who started and opened his eyes.

"Chizuru-kun, it's been a while," he smiled at her, completely at peace with his fate, "I trust the others are doing alright?"

"Come with me and I'll show you," she spoke with a serious expression, her hands coiling around the bars of his cell.

"Kazuma-sama! She can't just free him, he's a very important political prisoner!" the general objected.

"An important political prisoner who you will behead tomorrow," Kazuma deadpanned, the general looked at him in shock.

"But how could you know that, it's been top secret just in case the Shinsengumi mount an attack to rescue..." he paled dramatically when he took in Chizuru's wolfish grin, "You're..."

"Chizuru of the Shinsengumi, wife of the 1st division Captain, Okita Souji," she took a step towards him, he fell backwards in fright and sat on the floor, staring up at her.

"Chizuru, stop," a gentle voice came from inside the cell, "If I escape then Toushi will be in danger from the government. It was my decision and one that I do not regret, I always knew that they would take my life." She turned to look at Kondou who was now stood up against the bars.

"I can't just sit back and watch."

"You must, for the sake of our family," he smiled at her sadly. Chizuru bit her lip as she battled to understand his reasoning, she knew he was right but she didn't want him to die. With a sigh, she turned back to the general.

"Open the cell," when he was about to argue she added, "You can lock me in with him for a moment. But don't get any ideas about leaving me in there. If you do, Kai will take the keys and your head at the same time," she promised him. He gulped but hurried to do as she asked, Kondou moved away from the door to prove that he wouldn't try to run away.

"Last time you saw me I was with child," Chizuru spoke gently as she ducked into the cell and stood opposite the commander she had grown fond of.

"I remember, he was such a strong child despite not even been born," he smiled at the memory of feeling her son's chi. Chizuru reached to her chest and unwrapped the child hidden beneath some cloth.

"It's only right that as our commander, you should be able to greet the newest member of our family," she held her red headed son out to his stunned uncle.

"Meet Hono," she grinned at him as he took the small child into his arms, "the flame of the Shinsengumi will never burn out." Kondou stared at her in awe before turning back to the silent child who gazed up at him.

"Hello Hono-chan, it's nice to finally meet you," he whispered. Hono slowly took kondou's offered finger and grasped it tightly, a serious expression on his face.

"My lady, we should be going," Kai spoke quietly through the bars, "the humans are getting restless."

"Very well," she turned back to Kondou, "Are you sure I can't persuade you to come with me?" He shook his head and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I will leave the Shinsengumi in your capable hands. Look after Toushi and the others, they will need your strength," he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, then kissed Hono's forehead before handing him back to his mother.

"Goodbye Isami Kondou, you will always be in my heart," the commander looked shocked at her knowledge and use of his full name.

"Goodbye, Ibuki Chizuru, may the dragon of the wind always be victorious," she gave them a mischievous grin and kissed his forehead before leaving the cell. She strode past the general who was still on the floor, up the stairs and out of the building, ignoring the soldiers who were in a panic thinking their general had been captured by the three strangers who had barged their way into the station.

"The humans are getting restless! Seriously?!" Kazuma turned on Kai as soon as the door slammed shut behind them.

"He was right to do so, Kazama. He knew I didn't want to create too much of a commotion," Chizuru turned to the fuming blond devil; he sighed and walked away.

"Follow me if you want to go see your mate," he called back to her and she ran after him, after all it had been a very long time since she had seen Okita.

...

After meeting up with a devil known as Shiranui and becoming uneasy allies, Okita stood side by side with him, ready to repel the vast army of furies coming to feast after war had broken out in a new province. They didn't have to wait for long before they could hear the marching feet of their enemy. As one, they rose up against the threat and fought harder than they had ever needed to before. Beginning to tire from the hard fighting and the numerous minor wounds he had sustained, Okita wasn't able to dodge a lunge from one of the fury's; it's bayonet caught him in the abdomen, piercing through so that the end could be seen out of his back. With a roar to chill the soul of those around him, Okita thrust his spear through the man's head and flung him away. By this time the number of furies had decreased dramatically and their corpses littered the forest floor.

The brown haired man looked up to see Kondou Yukimura holding a bomb whilst talking to Shiranui who had run out of bullets. With a prayer to every god listening, Okita launched his spear into the air and it impaled the bald man who dropped the bomb, setting it off with a loud explosion. He watched as Shiranui turned to look at him with a grateful smile, only to see it fade into worry. As the devil made his way up to him, Okita limped over to a tree and slid down it. Shiranui sat down beside him and sighed.

"You know, I ordered to protect you," he admitted, Okita chuckled painfully.

"By who?"

"By me," Chizuru walked out of the undergrowth, babe in arms, they both stared at her in shock.

"Forgive me, my love, but I cannot come back to you," Okita's voice was slowly growing faint; "I can feel myself slip away." For a moment she looked shocked before she ran the distance between them. She quickly handed the child to Shiranui who cooed at the youngster and Okita looked at her with held open, confused eyes. She pulled her sword partly out of its sheath and, before anyone could stop her, slit her wrist. After hissing in pain she brought the bleeding limb to her mouth and took in a large mouthful without swallowing the iron rich liquid. She closed the foot distance between her and her dying mate and kissed him, releasing all the blood into his mouth. When she pulled away, both their lips were stained crimson. Okita smiled up at her, a dribble of blood leaking from his mouth as he forced himself to swallow. But it didn't seem enough as his eyes slowly fluttered shut and her hand on his chest allowed her to feel his heart firstly slow and then stop.

"Souji...iii," she whispered to the green-eyed man, she reached out and touched his cheek, only to have his head fall forward limp, "Wake up." Kai put a hand on her shoulder only to have it shrugged off; he could see the tension building in her chi.

"You said you would see me again, we both knew you meant more than just seeing my face; and now that we are finally reunited, you die on me?!" in her despair and frustration she punched him in the chest, "you're a liar." She stood and turned her back on him, her eyes red with her raging emotions. Kazama, Kai and Shiranui all sank to their knees, not looking at her in the eye, fearing the explosion of her emotions. She was about to walk away when she felt the earth resound with a heartbeat, one so strong it made the very trees around her tremble with delight. A warm, comforting chi surrounded Chizuru and she froze, her lip trembling.

"I will never lie to you again," strong muscular arms encircled her, pulling her into his chest, "though I can't promise that I won't stretch the truth a little." His breath whispered into her ear, making her choke back a sob. Chizuru didn't trust her eyes, so she closed them as she turned in the man's arms. She trailed her hands up his chest, down his arms and allowed him to lead her hand to his face. She opened her eyes to look at the brown haired, green eyed man who had stolen and shattered her heart. A moment ago he had been dead and now, he was holding her, allowing the shards of her heart to stay in place. She couldn't help but burst into tears and throw her arms around her mate, who buried his face in her hair. Slowly, he started leading her away from the three other men and when she realised he was taking her to a private place to have some 'alone time', she flatly refused.

"No," he looked at her stunned, "You'll have to heal fully before any of that. I don't want you dying again because you kept your promise." He opened his mouth to start arguing when she fixed him with a death glare.

"Don't you dare do that again or I'll go to the netherworld and kill you again myself!" she snarled, knowing not to dispute with her at that point Okita nodded dumbly. He turned to Shiranui, who still held the infant and smiled.

"May I hold my son?" he asked his blue haired wife and he could visibly see all the anger drain out of her.

"Shiranui," she held her hands out for her son and the tanned man laid the boy gently into her arms, she turned to face Okita.

"Okita, I'd like you to meet Hono, our son," she held the young boy out to his father so that he could hold his for the first time.

"Hono," he whispered as he stared down at his son in awe. Hono opened his eyes and looked up at him with the same brown eyes as his mother. Hono's chi flared around him recognising Okita as his father. He then flared his chi to envelope his mother as well, bringing her closer to them. Taking his prompt, Chizuru wrapped her arms around her son and mate. She bent down and gently kissed her son's forehead before pressing her lips to Okita.

"Souji, I want you to go back home with our son; to heal and to take your place as clan chief," Chizuru spoke quietly but he could feel the raw emotions she was experiencing through her chi.

"Only if you take more than one bodyguard with you," he cupped her cheek with a serious expression on his face.

"Very well, I'll take two," she turned to the gun wielding devil, "Shiranui, please continue to keep my mate safe." He laughed and opened the portal to the devil world ready for the new lord of the Ibuki tribe to take his place on the throne of the now most powerful devil tribe.

"I will see you again," Okita said before taking Chizuru's lips in a passionate kiss. With one last look back, Okita carried Hono through the portal with Shiranui close behind.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

"Word on the wind is that the Choushu alliance has found Hijikata and are planning to assassinate him," Kazuma reported to Chizuruafter a reconnaissance mission behind enemy lines (his once allies).

"Then we must move quickly," a dark grin stretched across her face, "It's been a long time since I let off some steam."

"Please allow us to accompany you," Kai requested, the two others looked at him and laughed.

"You'll have to accompany me, else Okitawill kill you," Chizuruchuckled before leading the way to the mountain top pass where Kazuma said the would-be assassins were meeting. As they were meant to be just overseers in the human vs. human war, Chizuruand her two body guards concealed themselves in a tree. They didn't have to wait long before a large group of men gathered under the very tree they had hid themselves. Chizuru rolled her eyes in annoyance before sensing a familiar chi approach them. She turned to see Sano crest the hill and draw his sword. The men beneath her caught sight of him and attacked him, understanding him to be a threat, gun shots echoing around the mountain. The would-be assassins threw down their lanterns and charged at Sano who met them head on despite the trickle of blood which had escaped his mouth. As soon as some of the men surrounded him, Harada released his control on his humanity and transformed into a fury at full power.

"No, He mustn't do that!" Chizuru cried but was held back by her two bodyguards. In an instant, five men fell in half at a swing of Harada's katana, a feat which made the assassins tremble. After 10 minutes of hard fighting, it was clear that Sanosuke's strength was failing and one of the men inflicted a nasty slash to his shoulder before another thrust his sword right through his belly. Sanosuke stood for a moment, his expression peaceful before grinning and killing the man in front of him with a powerful swing of his sword.

"Why don't you come out and join in? I can feel your blood lust!" Sanosuke looked up at the tree the three devils were hidden in and they jumped out and joined the fray.

"Don't try to protect me, Chizuru," Sanosuke whispered and the brunette nodded knowing that Sanosuke was already dead. Once all the assailants had been dealt with, Chizuru turned when she heard a thud; Sanosuke had fallen to his knees, driving his sword into the ground.

"Sanosuke!" She ran up to him to help him but he raised a hand to stop her.

"It is my time to go, at least I got to die fighting rather than rotting in bed," he gasped as he tried to catch his breath.

"You fought well Captain of the 3rd division of the Shinsengumi, Harada Sanosuke," Chizuru knelt in front of him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "I will stay with you and watch as you join Kondou." At the sound of his beloved commander's name, Harada's eyes softened and he smiled.

"I'm glad you are here with me now, at the end. I have one wish I need to ask of you," Chizuru nodded and waited for Okita to take a shaky breath, "once I am at rest, take my sword with you and remember me." As the last sound whispered from his mouth, his eyes flickered shut and his body crumbled into dust and was swept away by the wind. A single tear crept its way down her face as Chizurus tood and looked down towards the nearby village.

"Kai, leave it," she stopped her bodyguard from removing the sword from where it stood, its bandage floating in the wind, "don't move it just yet. There is someone who needs to see this scene before we honor Sanosuke's final wish." She was talking about Hijikata and Chizuru who were slowly making their way up the mountain path towards them.

"Return to your hiding positions," she ordered her two companions. AS soon as they were no longer in sight, Hijikata and Kazeryu crested the hill and came across the massacre. It seemed that the demon vice commander worked out that Sanosuke had past straight away and it took until Kazeryu recognised the set of his shoulders to realise that she would no longer see her friend again. She turned and ran to keep up with her commanding officer, tears streaming down her face.

"Forgive me Kazeryu, that I am not there to comfort you, but I must remain a ghost for now," Chizuru whispered into the wind before directing Kazama to take Sanosuke's katana back to the Yukimura clan stronghold and lay it to rest beside Kondou's.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

A familiar presence brushed up against Kazeryu's chi and her eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"Kazama," she slid the inn window open to stare down at the blond devil who had just arrived outside the door of the establishment she was staying in, "I told you to return straight away, why have I been waiting here for over a week?!" whilst her voice was calm, a flash of chi escaped her and slammed into him leaving him breathless. It was then that she noticed that Kazama hadn't returned alone and her brow creased in worry.

"What happened?" she jumped from the window and landed silently in front of him.

"We've just received word that Hajime Saito was captured during a raid on a battalion of enemy soldiers. He is scheduled to be executed tomorrow in Aizu, along with the head of the Aizu forces. What do you want to do?"

"We will go to the execution and stop it, I won't give Saito the choice as to whether or not I save him," Kazeryu's eyes burned with determination as she motioned Kazama to lead the way and he opened a portal to a place near the execution ground.

"Spread out, I'll take the lead in the rescue but I might need your assistance in getting them away safely," she allowed Kazama to take charge of the men he had brought with him. They relaxed for the night in their hidden positions waiting for the prisoners to be brought to the prepared execution ground.

...

Chizuru was awake before the sun rose, her sensitive eyes making out movement in the building and saw the enemy lord walked, more like waddled, out towards the execution ground. She sneered at the huge man in disgust, knowing that he would happily send others to their death without the knowledge of how to fight himself.

"Kazama," she whispered and saw slight movement next to her, telling her he was there, "You are still thought of as their ally. Go, I need someone in the midst of the chaos," he walked out of his hiding place and greeted the lord, who looked surprised but pleased that he was there. It was obvious from Kazama's body language that the man had asked him to be his bodyguard and he was not happy at being ordered around by the stinking pig of a man.

"Bring out the prisoners," the call was heard and Saito and lord Aizu were dragged out from the castle, it was clear from the blood on their clothes that they had been brutally tortured, probably for information. They were thrown to their knees in front of the lord and Kazama; daggers were placed in front of them.

"No, take the daggers away. They are traitors and do not deserve an honourable death," the enemy lord shouted and Saito raised his head and glared defiantly, "kill the Meibu dog first!" Kazama felt a flash of furious chi from outside the execution ground as the executioner took his place.

"I would strongly advise against killing them," Kazama stated but was ignored by the lord. The executioner raised his sword and brought it down quickly but before the blade could touch Saito's neck there was a strong gust of wind and a metallic crash. For a moment everyone had their eyes shut, protecting them from the wind, then they opened them and saw a blue haired woman with burning brown eyes which seemed to be made of fire.

"Looks like a Shinigami decided to show up," Kazama smirked and internally laughed when the humans around him shrank away from her. The executioner dropped what was left of his sword and fled. When Chizuruhad stopped her sword, she had managed to cleave the steel in two with her devil strength.

"Kazama, don't just sit there. You are meant to be protecting me, as I am your Master!" the enemy lord squealed like a pig as Chizuru turned her eyes on him. She picked up the broken sword and threw it at the enemy, only to have the weapon caught by Kazama.

"Ah, well done Kaz..." the man's eyes widened in shock when Kazama slammed the broken point into his stomach and ripped it across, allowing the enemy's guts to spill out on the ground.

"I don't have a Master!" the blond devil snarled before kicking the corpse away from him.

"I thought you were going to teach my son to wield a sword with his left hand. I won't let you die until he is a master of the blade," Chizuru growled from behind a shocked Saito.

"I should remember that," Saito smiled as she cut off the ropes tying his hands together.

"Saito-dono, do you know these two?" lord Aizu whispered, all the enemy soldiers had fled at the death of their commander.

"Lady Chizuru is a member of the Shinsengumi," he started but was interrupted by Chizuru who was sniggering.

"I would never have thought you would call me lady," she laughed as she sat on the floor in front of them. Aizu stared at her for a moment before looking back at Saito who was more relaxed than he had ever seen him. Chizuru looked at the confused man for a moment before sighing, she gave a short whistle and her soldiers removed themselves from their hiding places and knelt behind her as she stood.

"Take these men back with you," she spoke gently, surprising the two rescues.

"But my lady! I can understand taking Saito-dono but why do we need to concern ourselves with the human?!" one of the soldiers objected, only to flinch when she turned her furious gaze on him.

"Do you know anything about lord Aizu?" she kept her voice calm despite the anger she was feeling.

"Nothing, I try not to associate with humans," he sneered.

"Then what do you think of Okita? HE was once human," she turned her back on him as he smirked.

"That fake will be dethroned quickly enough! There are a number of us who won't accept him despite being mated to you," the man was a fool for telling her this, it seemed that he didn't realise he had just revealed a conspiracy to her.

"Kazama, take this low life and find out everything he knows. I want an example made out of him and his 'friends'. But don't tell Okita."

"Why, you want to protect your precious human?" the man spat and she grabbed his chin, her nails sharpened into claws, digging into his face.

"I don't want him to know because I want to kill you myself, though it would be more fitting to let a human take your head," she smirked as he paled.

"Go," Kazama grabbed the man by the throat and disappeared. Chizuru took a moment to calm herself before turning to the rest of her men with narrowed eyes.

"Does anyone else share his ideas," they all quaked under her gaze.

"Milady," Kai jumped down from the tree he had been sat in, acting as look out, "we should get going, the enemy is returning."

"Good, I need to work off some of this anger," she span her sword through the air, cutting the partition in half. They could see at least a hundred men running towards them in an ambush. Chizuru kicked off and met them head on, slashing her sword. Death occurred with every graceful movement of her blade. Saito watched her from far away and couldn't help but think that she was dancing; the men around her seemed to be moving in slow motion compared to her.

"She defiantly looks like a Shinigami," Aizu said as he came to stand next to him, Saito couldn't help but nod as he watched her spin in a rain of blood. Chizurus tood panting as she watched the last few enemy soldiers turn tail and run. Her body trembled from the activity and her blood thrummed with excitement. Willing herself calm, she walked back to the two men whom she had saved, only to see Aizu flinch and take a step back in fear. She turned her eyes to him and he fell to his knees and bowed to her, she stared at him confused. She heard a sword unsheathe behind her and turned to see Saito crouched on the floor, the flat of the blade directed to her.

"You defiantly look like a Shinigami at the moment," he used the sword to show her, her reflection. Her fangs and red eyes gave her a demonic appearance and she laughed for a moment, before concentrating on returning back to normal.

"Forgive me, lord Aizu, I lost control of myself for a moment there," she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. He stared at her in disbelief before looking at Saito who smiled at her antics.

"Would you take them to Okita for me?" she asked her soldiers who nodded and jumped to their feet to carry out her request. They didn't want to risk her anger again, once was enough as her violent temper was well known from when she was a child although back then, she had to hide it a lot more to reduce the physical punishment she would get from her brother and his mother. Just before they left, a ninja of the Yukimura clan appeared next to Chizuru and bowed with his head to the ground. She could tell that he brought bad new and prepared herself as much as she could.

"What happened?" she spoke quietly.

"Whilst trying to protect Ibuki-hime, Heisuke-san and Sannan-san used too much of their life force and have faded. They were able to say their last goodbyes; and once Hijikata-dono and Ibuki-hime had gone, their swords were recovered."

Her eyes darkened for a moment as she mourned the loss of the two. She turned to look at Saito who was staring in shock at the floor, she could feel the turmoil of emotions running through his chi; with a shaky breath she turned back to the ninja.  
"Give the swords to Okita; he'll know what to do. Your next mission is to find Hijikata-san and Yukimura-hime, as quickly as you can! I can't allow those two to die as well," she ordered the ninja who bowed and vanished instantly.

"Why did you save me?" Saito whispered, for a second Chizuru lost control of herself and the full extent of her chi flashed like a crack of thunder, allowing him to feel everything she was feeling. But with that display of power, she managed to render Aizu and held her soldiers unconscious.

"You dare question me?!" she snarled at the blue haired man who knelt at the pressure of her chi, "I have lost too many I call family, I will not let any more perish!" He stared at her for a moment before understanding that she felt the same way as he did. Just like him, she wanted to be with her fellow Shinsengumi members, but whilst he was thinking about joining them in death, she was thinking about saving everyone she could and living out the rest of her life with them.

"Very well," he whispered, "Take me to my brothers." Chizuru nodded to her conscious soldiers and they and Saito (carrying Lord Aizu) vanished through the portal.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say that your chi keeps getting stronger," Kazama came to stand beside her and she sighed.

"I don't seem to have as much control over my power as I used to. I can't wait until this war is over."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

"My Lady, I have found Hijikata-dono and Yukimura-Hime," the Yukumiraninja bowed to Chizuru and she stopped pacing.

"Kazama, with me," she walked towards the ninja who had made a portal to their destination.

"What about Kai?"

"He's not here and I don't have time to wait for him," her reply came back to him before she disappeared through the portal.

Once through the portal, Chizuru could see an ancient Sakura in full bloom standing proud in the middle of a clearing. For a moment she couldn't help but wonder at the beauty in front of her, the blossoms seemed to glow in the night. She almost missed the two people standing beneath the tree; it was the last two members of the Shinsengumi she wanted to find. Before she could call out to them, Kazama put a hand on her shoulder to stop her movements.

"I have some unfinished business I want to complete with Hijikata," Kazama narrowed his eyes. Knowing that he wouldn't back down, Chizuru sighed and took a step back and was cloaked by shadows. Wind swept up the hill and threw numerous petals into the air, they danced like snow.

"So you're still alive, are you?" Kazama caught the attention of the two, Hijikata leaning heavily on Kazeryu's shoulder.

"Kazama-san?" Kazeryu spoke, shocked.

"I've come to put an end to everything. I swear by my pride that I'll be rid of this thorn in my side," Kazama spoke calmly.

"I never thought you'd come all the way to Ezo," Hijikata pushed himself off of Kazeryu's shoulder and approached the blond devil, "It would have been quite a waste of time if I had died already," he replied.

"Please don't do this," Chizuru pleaded with Kazama as she moved protectively in front of Hijikata, "Hijikata-san is severely injured." Hijikata stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Just keep quiet and watch me," he moved her out of the way as his other hand gripped his sword.

"But I..."

"If someone is willing to lose everything over a fight, as a true warrior I should accept the challenge," Hijikata kept eye contact with Kazama.

"That's..." Kazeryu was still trying to persuade him from fighting before remembering some words that Kazama had spoken to her before she had been reunited with her loved on in Ezo.

"Hijikata-san," her voice had calmed.

"I will fight for what I believed in," she suddenly saw him dressed in the Shinsengumi uniform like her would have been in the past, "I will beat you so I may survive."

"Very well then," Chizuru resigned herself to the fact that they would fight.

"When to live, is that the case? The more power you use the shorter your life becomes," Kazama shook his head, "You furies are nothing more than mere fakes. Pure blooded devils are on a completely different plain, it is your fate to die. It's almost lamentable, you are just like cherry blossoms the way you rush through life."

"I am not trying to rush through life," Hijikata gripped his sword and drew it, "I just had a bunch of people who relied on me for their well being. The way of life for the Shinsengumi ideal warrior is severe." Kazama unsheathed his sword and readied himself. Kazeryu couldn't help but worry as she stared at Hijikata's broad back, praying that he would survive.

With a roar, Hijikata initiated their duel, his hair turning white and his eyes glowing red. Kazama transformed and met him head on, neither warrior holding back. Kazama managed to strike Hijikata first but was almost instantly rewarded with a slash to his arm and he kicked his red eyed enemy away from him.

"Hijikata-san!" Kazeryu couldn't help but cry out. With a grunt of pain, Hijikata pulled himself up and flew at Kazama with another roar, only to be hit with the pommel of Kazama's sword and thrown to the ground again. Chizuru slipped silently into the branches of the Sakura, she was already completely transformed into her devil appearance, furious at Kazama for putting Hijikata's life in danger. Hijikata had to use his sword to help him stand, as droplets of his blood splashed to the ground.

"There is someone I must protect; I don't care if you're an Oni! I won't lose!" Hijikata roared and pushed Kazama back.

"The name fury that belongs to those fakes, does not match the way you live your life, swordsman. Members of the Shinsengumi called you devil spirit, I shall bestow a devil name upon you," Kazama looked at Hijikata who stood under the Sakura tree, the wind blowing the petals around him, "You are Hakuoki!"

"It's not like I have been fighting to earn your recognition as a devil. I can't play for much longer. That a problem?" Hijikata smiled grimly.

"Naturally, I shall finish you off in one strike," Kazama replied. They stood still watching each other for what seemed like an age. They moved and the sound of a clash of swords was heard as an explosion of cherry blossoms shot into the air. Everyone's eyes widened in shock when the blossoms cleared, Hijikata's sword had gone through Chizuru who had jumped between them at the last moment, Kazama's sword had been pushed away by her hand. A trickle of blood escaped from her mouth as she looked up at Kazama who stared at her in shock.

"Chizuru-san," Hijikata gasped as he pulled his sword out of her and threw it to the side, Kazama caught her as she fell forward.

"Chizuru!" Kazeryu cried and ran over, just as Kazama turned the blunette over. She had just about reached them when Hijikata fell to his knees, his strength failing him. Colour seeped back into his hair and his eyes became purple again.

"Why?" he asked the woman on the floor, "Why did you get between us?"

"I couldn't let you kill each other, I've tried so hard to keep everyone alive," she gasped as a pulse of pain went through her, "I have lost too many comrades already to allow you to do that." Both Kazama and Hijikata looked ashamed of themselves and then looked up when Kazeryu went to her knees next to them.

"Chizuru?" she whispered in worry and Chizuru looked at her.

"You need not worry. You know that I have recovered from injuries worse than this," she laughed before her eyes widened and she turned to look at Hijikata.

"Toushi, your chi?" she whispered and he smiled gently at the blunette.

"It seems my time has come, despite you saving me," strength completely left his body and he fell sideways to the ground.

"Hijikata-san!"

"Wait Kazeryu. Kazama, Kazeryu's blood has not been strong enough to turn him into a true devil and so the curse of the fury is killing him. I have lost too much blood to have enough power to turn him. Plus, you gave him his devil name, so it is only fitting that you let him drink your blood." Kazama nodded, seeing the logic in her words; as he moved towards Hijikata, Chizuru called Kazeryu closer to her.

" Kazeryu, I hate to ask this of you, but..." Chizuru began but hesitated.

"What do you need me to do?"

"I need some of your blood," Chizuru couldn't think of any other way to say it so she just spoke bluntly. Kazeryu looked shocked for a moment before quickly cutting herself and offering her blood, which Chizuru only took a mouthful before healing the cut.

"Thank you Kazeryu," Chizuru smiled up at the smaller woman, she could feel the wound pulling together and heal. The women turned and watched as Hijikata drank some of Kazama's blood. The effect was instantaneous, Hijikata's face regained its former colour and all his wounds healed. His eyes opened to see Kazeryu leaning over him, his head on her knees.

" Kazeryu," he whispered, reaching up and brushing a tear from her face.

"Oh, Hijikata-san," not thinking she bent down and hugged him.

" Kazeryu, call me Toushi," he whispered into her ear and she blushed bright red but nodded at his request.

"Toushi," her voice was so quiet it was almost inaudible and he pulled her down into a kiss, forgetting or not caring that they had an audience. Following a silent command, Kazama opened a portal to the devil world. Once they had finished kissing, Chizuru cleared her throat getting their attention. They looked shocked at the two devils presence and Kazeryu blushed.

"Come, it's time we return home," she motioned towards the portal and the peace that was on the other side.

"What about the war?" Hijikata frowned, Chizuru shook her head.

"The war will be over soon," she looked into the portal, "besides you are the last members of the Shinsengumi left fighting." She didn't explain her words and she could see by the two's expression that they were thinking the worst. They walked through the portal and were greeted by a furious Kai.

"Ibuki-Hime!" he snarled, forgetting his manners as his eyes flashed, barely keeping control of himself, "You left me behind!"

"Forgive me Kai, but I couldn't wait for you to return," Chizuru

spoke gently; she knew his anger was justified.

"But...!"

"That's enough Kai. You should not have left her side, so you are partly to blame," Okita walked in and placed a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Yes sir," Kai bowed and moved aside for his clan head.

"Okita?" Hijikata said in shock at the red haired man, Okita grinned and hugged Chizuru who had run up to him in tears.

"Come on, let's get you two inside," they walked into the main building, Okita let them to his private quarters and Hijikata gasped. The main quarters were almost exactly the same as the Shinsengumi headquarters in Edo. The door Okita opened was in the same place as where the officers meeting room sat. They all walked in and, feeling a single chi on the left side of them, they looked and saw Saito sat motionless with his eyes shut.

"Saito-dono?" Chizuru gasped and the blue haired man opened his eyes and looked up at them.

"Is this all of our brethren you managed to save, Chizuru?" his voice was clipped, his anger shining through his eyes, "Just 4 out of 9 of us. Less than half." Chizuru narrowed her eyes at him before she moved to sit opposite, everyone's eyes on her.

"I want you all to listen to what I have been doing," they did as she asked, "As you know I left the Shinsengumi to go home over the last half of my pregnancy, so that I would be surrounded by people who knew about devil births and so that I could clear the Yukumiraclan of those who have kept it weak for so long. Once I had completed what I had wanted to do here, I returned to the human world with my son. Kazama had been acting as my eyes and ears and brought word of Kondou-san's imprisonment. I went to visit him the day before he died."

"What! Why didn't you save him?!" Hijikata roared, he had half risen to his feet. He froze when she turned her eyes on him, allowing him to see the fury she felt at her failure in her eyes.

"I tried to save him, I pleaded with him to come with me but he refused," she fisted her hands and looked at the floor in frustration, "his reason was pure, that is why I left him there as he requested." At their questioning looks, she explained, "he knew that if he escaped with me then the rest of the Shinsengumi would have been hunted mercilessly down until there was none of you left. His final wish was that I lend my strength and protect you all, he was defiantly the father of the Shinsengumi." She looked up to see everyone have a moment in their thoughts before continuing.

"I then found Okita who had been severely injured and sent him here with my son to recover. It was touch and go for a while, we didn't know if he would survive," Okita put an arm round her shoulders and brought her closer to him.

"But I did survive so you can stop worrying," he smiled gently down at his wife who leant against him, seeking strength from him.

"After Okita was safe, I fought beside Okita-san on a certain mountain path. I didn't stop him from using up his life force and I don't regret that decision.

"How dare you say that! If you had stopped him fighting then Souji would still be alive!" Hijikata snarled, he froze when he saw Chizuru shake her head.

"Okita-san's illness was in its final stage, even if he hadn't fought, he still would have died within a few days. At least he was able to die protecting those he loved and doing something he enjoyed." She saw understanding blossom in his eyes and he settled down again, Chizuru discreetly grabbed the sleeve of his arm and he held her hand, comforting her.

"Kazama then brought word that Saito-san was scheduled to be executed the next day so I hurried to his side. After Kondou-san, I decided not to give Saito-san a choice whether I save him or not and so I destroyed the main force that had invaded Aizu and Kazama killed the enemy commander. During the calm after our victory we received word that Sannan-san and Heisuke-kun had passed onto the next world. After hearing about them, Saito decided that I had made the wrong decision and still believes that I should have let him die." They all looked at Saito who sat with her arms crossed and eyes shut.

"You and Chizuru already know how I saved you and here we are. Welcome home, everyone," Chizuru smiled at them and it seemed that everyone relaxed, all the tension in their chi faded and they were finally at peace,

"Ah, which reminds me, KAI," Chizuru called out to summon the man who had been sat outside the door of the room.

"The prisoner in cell 2, please can you bring him here," Kai bowed and hurried off to do her bidding, a quick word from his clan chief seemed to quell his anger. They sat there in silence for 10 minutes or so and then the sound of footsteps could be heard. The door opened and Kai dragged in someone none of the others expected to see. Even Okita was shocked when Shinpachi stumbled in. He snarled as he looked up, and then stopped, surprise seeping onto his face.

"Kai told me that some of you survived, but I couldn't bring myself to believe him. Yet here you all are," he sat down heavily beside Saito.

"Chizuru, why was he in prison?" Okita asked his wife.

"When Kazama brought Shinpachi-san here, he was uncontrollable. He kept trying to fight everyone he came into contact with; with me carrying around a new born we thought it prudent to place him where he wouldn't get in the way," Shinpachi looked away in embarrassment, he knew his behaviour had not been fitting as a Captain of the Shinsengumi. To be honest he had just been confused, one minute he is surrounded , fighting to the death with the enemy and the next, Kazama had dragged him through a portal and was surrounded by people he didn't know who had been armed to the teeth. What had they expected, needless to say his bout of insanity should have ended when Chizuru approached him but in his state of mind, she had just been an incredibly strong enemy commander. He hadn't noticed that she had been carrying a child strapped to her chest.

"Forgive me, I should not have acted in such a manner," Shinpachi bowed, his shame making his shoulders slump.

"It is only to be expected. You were taken from a situation of certain death to one of peace, the armed guard couldn't of helped the transition," Chizuru stood and approached the distraught man, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and embraced. She felt him tense for a moment before completely relaxing, she pulled back and lifted his head so that he had to meet her eyes.

"If you cannot forgive yourself then help us and prove yourself once again, reclaim you honour," she spoke gently and he nodded, tears welling in his eyes at her forgiveness.

"Thank you, I won't let you down," he bowed, his head touching the floor.


	16. Chapter 16

Epilogue

"All those who were planning a rebellion have been arrested and are awaiting judgement, Milady," Rai bowed and Chizurulooked away from the training ground where her son was having sword lessons from Saito.

"It's been two years since the first arrest, thank you for sticking with it all this time," she smiled up at him, he smiled back to her. She had become the leader the Yukimura clan always needed, one they loved and respected despite her ruling with an iron fist. Many, who were at first unsure, had come to accept the humans she had adopted into the family. The former members of the Shinsengumi and Lord Aizu worked hard as teachers and taught the young devils how to do many things. Saito and Hijikata taught swordsmanship, Kazeryu taught the young to cook, Aizu taught them how to read and write whilst Shinpachi taught them survival skill, but the most important lesson he taught was how to have fun. He pretty much became a father to them all and, despite having found a wife and had a child, he treated them all equally as his own.

Okita had become stronger and had accepted his devil blood; with his new found identity he had led the devil clans into an alliance, one so strong that saw the clans mingle in such a way that had never been seen before. The youngsters came from every family to be taught by his former comrades and, being thrown together, they made bonds between families strengthening the alliance further. At first, the elders of the clans refused to hearken but once they saw how strong the Yukimura and Kazuma clans were when they stood together, they relented and allowed their own clans to mix.

There was one last thing to do and that was to take care of those who had planned his downfall, they were now in the minority as they had separated themselves from the main house and so had not seen all the good that the humans they hate had done.

"Okita," Chizuruwalked into his study and he pulled her to him, "It's time." With a sigh he ordered a group of guards to go and collect the prisoners and bring them to him.

"Take the long way round and show them our home and how it has changed," he ordered and though confused, the guards did as he asked.

"Its good weather today, all the lessons will be taught outside," Chizurugrinned.

"Exactly, what better way to see an alliance than to see the young together; they cannot pretend not to see," he smiled down at her and leaned his chin on her shoulders, content. After about an hour, the sound of footsteps could be heard and when the door opened they were greeted by a sight they did not expect. All the leaders of the clans and those of the Shinsengumi had joined the procession of guards and when they had entered the room, the leaders sat behind Okita and Chizuru, whilst the guards sat the prisoners opposite.

"You have seen what had become of the Yukimura clan, what do you think?" Okita asked.

"I still believe that bringing humans in to pollute the bloodline and dethroning your father was a foolish thing to do!" the oldest of the five said and Chizurusaw two shake their head in disagreement, what they had seen of the now strengthened clan had changed their minds.

"Hikaru, Takashi, step forward," she ordered and they gulped. They tried desperately to avoid their fathers glare as they walked past the outspoken man.

"Tell me what you think," they looked reluctant when they heard their father clear his throat, "You needn't fear your father, after all during the year you were imprisoned, you both became adults." They looked shocked that she knew that, after all, their father had even forgotten.

"My lady, we were wrong. After listening to our father we thought his cause was just. We should have looked at both sides before making the decision on whom to follow. Seeing the peace that you and your mate have created warms our heart. Please, we beg you forgiveness, though we know we do not deserve it," the twins bowed with their heads touching the floor.

"How dare you betray me!" the man roared and flew to his feet, he launched himself at the two, only to have his way blocked by Shinpachi who threw him across the room. The man landed heavily, shock clear on his face when he realised that it had been a human who had overpowered him.

"Chizuru-san, I shall take these two into my family. Although they have become adults, they still have much to learn," Shinpachi said, the expression on his face telling her how serious he was, she nodded her assent and he walked out of the room pulling the two with him.

The other two men who were with the outspoken man looked worried but there was a glint of steel in their eyes that told Chizuruthat they believed in what they were doing.

"You said that bringing humans into our family was foolish because it would pollute the bloodline and yet you were willing to follow Kirinosuke who had very little devil blood in him, so little in fact that he hadn't realised his true form and, from what I hear, still hasn't despite being well over the age of adulthood. Fools!" she snarled, the men paled at the truth of her words but still refused to repent.

"Very well, as a former human I shall be the one to assign your punishment. Before the whole council of the devil clans, I find you guilty of treason and banish you to the world of the humans. Chizuru, would you honour me by being my sword," he held her hand and together they stood.

"Oh foolish children of my clan, I remove you of your devil blood," she flared up her chi.

"How can you remove our devil blood without kill us!?"

"Did you really believe that you were a pure blood, we have kept quiet as the truth was too ironic," Kazuma sneered, "Your blood is more human than devil, we just assumed you knew."

Kazuma sent her chi into them and quickly removed any trace of devil from the three; their chi was sliced in half until it was almost non-existent. The air was red for a moment before she clicked her fingers and she absorbed their devil blood. Her fangs lengthened at the taste it left on her tongue.

"Even your devil blood is tainted with evil," she hissed, a shudder went through the council behind her as they felt her raw power rush over them. Okita pulled her into his arms and felt the tremors her body was undergoing, trying to fight the evil which she had taken into her body. He caused his chi to surround her and absorbed some of the evil to share her burden.

"Kazuma, throw these criminals through the portal before they can do any more damage," Okita snarled, and though Kazuma didn't like the fact that he had been given an order, taking in the negative feel of Okita's and Chizuru's chi, he decided that it would be best to just do as he was told.

As soon as the portal closed from sending them across to the human world, the negative feeling in their chi lifted. Chizurusighed in relief and looked up at Okita, whose expression told her that he felt the same as she did. Hijikata stood and approached them, placing his hands on their shoulders, breaking them out of their thoughts.

"It's over, we're at peace," he spoke gently and the three of them turned and looked at the council who nodded at them.

...

"So, dear one; we are now at peace, whatever will we do to pass the time?" Okita grinned at his wife who was holding their son.

" Kazeryu, would you like to look after Hono for me?" the blunette asked her friend who smiled knowingly at her. Over the last two years she and Hijikata had mated, she was no longer the innocent girl she used to be.

"Finally, I can keep my promise to see you again," Okita's eyes glittered with lust. It had taken them a long time to get the clans into the peaceful state they were in and now they wanted to renew the bond between themselves. Okita led her to his private rooms; he had not allowed anyone in them since he had them built.

"This will be our building," he wrapped his arms around her, "no one will disturb us here." He gently ran his hands up her arms and pushed her kimono off of her shoulders, allowing it to gather at the obi round her waist. He worshipped the uncovered skin with his lips, first running kisses up and down her back before inching round and taking one of her nipples into his mouth, one hand reaching up to play with the other; his other hand reaching round and undoing her obi, allowing her kimono to fall to the floor.

"Okita," she moaned, "No fair." One of her hands threaded into his hair, pulling it from its tie; her other hand desperately tugging at the tie on his trousers; she mewled at the feeling of his snigger on her breast; he pulled away and got undressed. Before he could do anything else, she attacked his lips; soon their tongues were battling for dominance which he won on account of him trailing his fingers down her side, making her gasp.

"Okita," she panted up at him and he grinned at his woman whose appetite for passion was as big as his. He trailed his hand down and rubbed a finger against her need; she bucked her hips and threw her head back. Feeling that she was already soaking wet, he quickly thrust in two fingers causing her to cry out in pleasure at the sudden intrusion. She hugged his head to her chest as she ground against his scissoring fingers.

"Stay still for a sec," he wrapped his arm around her hips, trying to cease her movement; her lust filled growl told him of her displeasure. In one movement, he bit down on a nipple and thrust in a third finger and was rewarded with the sensation of her muscles fluttering around his digits. He looked at his beautiful woman and was proud to know that he was the one to put the expression of ecstasy on her face. He gently slid his fingers out and nibbled her neck, slowly guiding her down from her high' this time, he would join her in ecstasy.

"Chizuru, you ready?" he whispered into her ear making her shiver.

"Take me, Okita, take all of me," she cried, as soon as she had said the first take me, Okita had thrust into her, sheathing himself fully.

The combination between Okita's hard thrusts and her constant hip grinding sent them both over the edge into utter bliss numerous times but they could feel something more was to come. Suddenly, their control over their devil appearances faded and their tails, fangs and claws grew. Their chi flooded the compound and sent their ecstasy into everyone inside. Those who had mates found their other half and whisked them away for some much needed private time. Those without mates soon found one or had to deal with their orgasm on their own. Thankfully the children were not affected other than having their teachers and caretakers suddenly disappear on them.

When Okita felt him nearing his finish, he knew that this orgasm would be the last one so he pulled his panting wife to him and buried his face into the crook of her neck; and when they had reached their state of total ecstasy, his instincts took over and he buried his fangs into the side of her neck, a prick of pain told him that she had done the exact same as he. He slowly rolled off her and they laid there panting for a few minutes before looking at each other.

"I love you, Okita," she whispered as she snuggled into his chest and he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled the bed cover over them, though they hadn't quite made it to the bed.

"I love you too, Chizuru," he kissed the top of her head before burying his nose into her hair and contently fell asleep, her soon following.

Neither of them knew the effect they had had on the others in the compound but needless to say, after 4 months quite a large number of babies were born; and this wasn't the last time such a 'coincidence' happened either, much to their puzzlement as no one ever got up enough courage against embarrassment to tell them what had really prompted them all to start to family. That was defiantly a secret they would take to the grave and beyond.


End file.
